This may very well be the year for ketamine therapy. A recent study—conducted by Osmind researchers and physician-scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine—was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders in January 2022. This is the largest published analysis of intravenous ketamine infusions outcomes to date, with key findings demonstrating that ketamine therapy is a rapid and robust treatment for depression.
Key Findings:
In a subset of 537 individuals receiving ketamine therapy across 178 clinics, there was a 54% response rate, and only a 30% remission rate.
The study went on to confirm that the response to ketamine therapy is also relatively durable, even in the absence of maintenance treatments, with approximately 80% of individuals retaining response at 4 weeks and 60% at 8 weeks.
Another key takeaway worth noting is the positive results for depressed patients struggling with suicidal ideation. The study showed that:
- 40% of patients with baseline suicidal ideation no longer experienced suicidal impulses after induction
- 70% of patients experienced an overall improvement in suicidal ideation
Furthermore, the lead author of the paper and VP of Medical Affairs at Osmind, Alison McInnes, MD, MS stated: “[Ketamine infusion therapy] is relatively safe, and is a rapid and very effective treatment for depression,” adding that only 8% of people experience worsening symptoms.
“Ketamine therapy for depression is rapidly changing the face of mental health care in the U.S.,” said Boris Heifets, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. “The need for relief has far outstripped the academic community’s ability to generate high-quality prospective data on the ever-expanding variety of real-world therapeutic practices involving ketamine.”
“The innovation is now happening in the field. Our study is the largest of its kind to capture a snapshot of what real-world ketamine clinics are doing, and how their patients fare,” Heifets said.
What’s Next?
This is the first of several studies planned for the Osmind real-world ketamine analysis initiative. Follow-up studies will include clinical history and demographics across larger numbers of individuals treated with ketamine infusion therapy, over longer periods of time.
At Ketamine Greater Boston, we have been providing ketamine infusion therapy to patients in the greater Boston area for years, and have administered thousands of infusions. We are experts in ketamine administration and would love to answer your questions about ketamine infusion therapy to help determine if it could work for you or a loved one.
Contact Ketamine Greater Boston
If you have already tried talk therapy, antidepressants, or other depression treatments, but nothing has worked, then ketamine infusions could be an effective solution for you. If you have questions, or want to learn more about how ketamine infusions alleviate depression—quickly—in up to 70% of patients, contact Ketamine Greater Boston using the brief form below.
Recent Comments