A single injection of ketamine has been shown to reduce moderate to severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), researchers have found.
The study, by medical investigators with Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York City, found that in the first day after IV treatment, patient symptoms declined by more than two-thirds
, Medpage Today reports.
Although the study involved a small number of patients, lead researcher Adriana Feder, M.D., said the findings suggest ketamine may be more effective than other medication used to treat PTSD.
For the study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Feder and colleagues tested the effects of ketamine in 41 PTSD patients. The participants were divided into two groups; one received a single IV dose of ketamine, the other the drug midazolam.
The results showed that both drugs produced sharp drops in PTSD symptoms, but ketamine's was greater.
Barbara Rothbaum, head of Emory University's trauma and anxiety recovery program in Atlanta, told MedPage Today the study breaks new ground in PTSD treatment.
"Ketamine has been shown to be helpful for depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, but this is the first time it has been shown to be helpful for PTSD," said Rothbaum, who was not involved with the study.
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