Study: Ketamine Minimizes Symptoms of PTSD

Recently Mt. Sinai Medical Center published a new study that demonstrated how intravenous (IV) ketamine treatment can reduce the symptoms of those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Lavitt, 2014). The proof-of-concept, double-blind, randomized, crossover study was conducted at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York. 

The study chose forty-one patients with chronic PTSD and “associated depressive symptoms” and compared a single IV dose of ketamine to a placebo. Though ketamine has been widely controversial as it is mainly known as a “party drug,” it was highly effective for alleviating symptoms of PTSD. For the study participants, ketamine provided “a significant and rapid reduction in PTSD symptom severity, compared with the placebo . . . twenty-four hours after infusion” (Lavitt, 2014). 

The associate professor of psychiatry at Icahn Medical Center, Dr. Adriana Feder, stated “these findings may lead to novel approaches in the treatment of chronic PTSD . . . however, this should be viewed as a proof of concept study” (Lavitt, 2014). “Longer term clinical trials with ketamine,” she continued, “will be required to determine if ketamine will be a clinically useful treatment for PTSD.”  

Lavitt, J. (2014). Recent study shows ketamine reduces symptoms of PTSD. Retrieved from http://www.thefix.com/content/recent-study-shows-ketamine-reduces-symptoms-ptsd