In traditional doses, ketamine is a reliable agent for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia as well as for procedural sedation in both children and adults.

More recently, a compelling amount of evidence shows that in sub-anesthetic doses, a ketamine infusion can produce a rapid, profound, and sustained improvement in many debilitating psychiatric and pain conditions.

Looking into the neurophysiology of ketamine’s effects, researchers have discovered sustained changes in frontoparietal lobe activity following a sub-anesthetic infusion, possibly explaining its efficacy in the treatment of other neuropsychiatric (OCD, PTSD, etc) and pain disorders beyond depression.⁵

Studies looking specifically into OCD, PTSD, GAD, Bipolar disorder, Fibromyalgia, Refractory Headache, Neuropathic Pain and CRPS have shown very convincing results for the use of ketamine therapy in these conditions.^{6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}

Currently, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as “electro-shock therapy”, is considered the gold standard for the treatment of resistant depression. In this therapy, electrodes are placed across the patient’s forehead, general anesthesia is induced, and a strong electrical current is applied to induce a clinical seizure leading to chemical changes in the brain.

Side effects of ECT include memory loss, muscle/jaw pain and even the possibility of cardiovascular collapse/death.

As a promising alternative, ketamine has been shown to have a significant benefit even in ECT treatment-resistant depression, without exposure to these potential side effects.⁴

Furthermore, if you feel you have exhausted your current treatment options including depression therapy, ketamine infusion therapy may be the next step for you.

1. Adaptation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors following antidepressant treatment: implications for the pharmacotherapy of depression.
2. Antidepressant effects of ketamine in depressed patients.
3. Antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in treatment-resistant major depression: a two-site randomized controlled trial.
4. Rapid decrease in depressive symptoms with an N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist in ECT-resistant major depression.
5. Evidence that Subanesthetic Doses of Ketamine Cause Sustained Disruptions of NMDA and AMPA-Mediated Frontoparietal Connectivity in Humans.
6. Randomized controlled crossover trial of ketamine in obsessive-compulsive disorder: proof-of-concept.
7. Efficacy of intravenous ketamine for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized clinical trial.
8. Effect of baseline anxious depression on initial and sustained antidepressant response to ketamine.
9. Ketamine as a novel treatment for major depressive disorder and bipolar depression: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis.
10. Ketamine in chronic pain management: an evidence-based review.
11. Intravenous Ketamine Infusions for Neuropathic Pain Mangement
12. Ketamine Infusions for Treatment Refractory Headache