Posted by SLS on June 8, 2012, at 13:07:08
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765252?src=mpnews&spon=12
Low-Dose Ketamine May Be Effective for Resistant DepressionJune 7, 2012 (Phoenix, Arizona) The administration of 6 low-dose intravenous infusions of the fast-acting drug ketamine over 2 weeks shows efficacy in improving symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression, new research shows.
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Ketamine may rapidly reverse prefrontal cortexbased deficits in depression at the neurocircuitry level, leading to an amelioration of clinical symptoms," said study investigator James W. Murrough, MD, a research fellow in Mount Sinai's Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program in New York City.
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After undergoing a washout of antidepression medication, patients were treated with a series of 6 intravenous infusions of low-dose ketamine (.5 mg/kg, which is about one quarter of the 2 mg/kg typically used as an anesthetic), administered 3 times a week over the 2 weeks. The patients were then monitored for up to 3 months or until a relapse.
The results showed a significant decrease in depression during the 2-week treatment phase, with an overall improvement in Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score from baseline to postinfusion number 6 of 22.8 points (mean baseline MADRS score, 32.1 ± 6.0; endpoint MARDS score, 9.3 ± 11.3).
As many as 70.8% (17 of 24 participants) had a reduction of 50% or more in their MADRS score at the study's endpoint, compared with baseline. The remaining 29.2% (7 of 24) were considered nonresponders.
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poster:SLS
thread:1019464
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120608/msgs/1019464.html