BJPsych Open
December 23, 2021
Zach Walsh, Özden Merve Mollaahmetoğlu, Joseph M. Rootman et al.
180 citations
A systematic review of 83 studies found that subanesthetic doses of ketamine produce rapid, short-lived antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects. Evidence for other psychiatric conditions is less robust but suggests similarly positive but transient benefits. The conclusions are tentative due to high risk of bias across the included studies. Optimal dosing, administration methods, and best forms of adjunctive psychotherapy require further investigation.
American Journal of Psychiatry
January 11, 2022
Meryem Grabski, Amy Mcandrew, Will Lawn et al.
169 citations
Three weekly infusions of ketamine (0.8 mg/kg) helped people with severe alcohol use disorder stay abstinent more days over six months than placebo infusions did. The ketamine group averaged 10.1% more days abstinent than the placebo group. Combining ketamine with mindfulness-based relapse prevention therapy produced the largest improvement, with 15.9% more abstinent days compared with placebo plus alcohol education. No serious adverse events occurred. Relapse rates did not differ significantly between ketamine and placebo groups. The findings suggest ketamine is safe and may support abstinence, especially when paired with psychological therapy.
BJPsych Open
January 18, 2022
Zach Walsh, Özden Merve Mollaahmetoğlu, Joseph Rootman et al.
28 citations
No Summary
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 5, 2019
Molly Carlyle, Tobias Stevens, Leah Fawaz et al.
22 citations
People who use MDMA (ecstasy) recreationally over the long term show normal or even enhanced empathy compared to other drug users. In a study of 67 individuals, those who used MDMA scored higher on self-reported emotional empathy and on a computer task measuring cognitive empathy than poly-drug users who did not use MDMA. However, MDMA users did not differ from other groups in how they subjectively reacted to social exclusion. The amount or frequency of MDMA use was not linked to empathy levels. These findings suggest that moderate, long-term recreational MDMA use does not cause heightened social distress and may be associated with better empathy, supporting the drug's safety profile for potential therapeutic use.