FDA approves Ketamine, a potential autism treatment.

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If anyone knows about the mechanism of Ketamine, its great news.. Ketamine may be able to help Autistics finally get out of their comfort zone and reverse many of the core symptoms. It was also found effective for depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood swings, etc..

It was approved primarily for depression although I'm sure many doctors will use it off label since it has so much potential.

Where exactly did you find evidence supporting this? (AKA I want to know where you got this from.)

All I know about Ketamine is that is magically cures leg muscle death on House. Probably not the best source of information.

“Special K” the party drug was approved for treatment resistant depression. While depression is a common co-morbid it is not approved as an autism treatment.
In biggest advance for depression in years, FDA approves novel treatment for hardest cases

as do I. I know its been approved for depression, but so far its not approved for any other off label use/trials.

This was on NBC news - maybe the Today show? - earlier this week, which means it is pretty mainstream media.

The mechanism of action is totally different than standard, older antidepressants. The older drugs regulate the amount of neurotransmitters available, either producing more of them, or keeping them in circulation longer (preventing them from decaying), blocking synaptic locations, etc.

But the ketamine actually causes new branches to form on neurons, meaning new learning becomes possible, and the action is pretty quick. A patient may feel better in an hour, rather than having to wait six weeks.

We've seen WP members who seem profoundly "stuck" on a dysfunctional thought, such as that their life is meaningless unless they "get a girlfriend," which they seem unable to do. It's easy to blame such people for just not trying to improve their situation, but that may be unfair. Maybe if new learning was possible for them, by way of ketamine, they would do the same actions that everyone is advising.

I'm going to shout something, so close your eyes: DO NOT GET KETAMINE AS A STREET DRUG AND TRY TO MEDICATE YOURSELF. Work with a psychiatrist on this. Since this treatment is new, it may be some psychiatrists don't use it yet, and you may have better luck at a university clinic or teaching hospital where newer treatments are being used.

I'm just amazed (perhaps I shouldn't be) that they would approve something so highly addictive on people who are often already desperate for relief of symptoms. It seems like a highly risky combination.

Good news

Why would you prescribe a treatment that has addiction potential? Why would you connect electrodes to someone's head and shock them?

The answer is treatment resistant depression. Have tried everything and nothing works. That changes the risk:benefit ratio. It's for people who have "nothing to lose."

You're right, of course. I just see a great potential for trading depression for ketamine addiction. I wonder which is worse?

Last edited by DanielW on 07 Mar 2019, 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

uhhh isnt this an animal tranquilizer... no thank you

I'm being a little nitpicky here, but the drug that the FDA approved isn't ketamine itself (a racemate), but rather, the left-handed enantiomer, known as esketamine. The right-handed version of the molecule, however, is said to be even more powerful, and is less likely to be abused.

Looking at the molecule, it's interesting (to me) that such a small molecule can change a person's mood so quickly. But, then again, lithium carbonate is effective at treating bipolar disorder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arketamine

By approved, do they mean readily available to prescribe, or is this some test-run trial basis? Also, does one have to be diagnosed and seeing a shrink, or can a regular doctor prescribe the stuff?

Anyone have any personal experience (legal or otherwise)?

I only know of its use as a treatment for depression, and its being marketed as such now. A doctor can prescribe it for that at least.

It's available to prescribe, right now.

The IV version must be administered in a doctor's office. Possibly the nasal spray, too - I don't know.

I believe any licensed physician can get it, but since it is pretty new, I think it would probably only be done by specialists (psychiatrists). You would probably have to really convince your primary care doc, who would probably want you to be seeing a psychiatrist anyway if you really have treatment-resistant depression. That is the only FDA approved use, but any doctor can prescribe any drug "off label" if they're comfortable with that.

They took a drug that costs probably $1 a vial wholesale and jacked up the price to as much as over $6000 USD a month so that no one can afford it. Congratulations fundamentally broken western medical system, what a joke. Of course they had to slightly alter the molecule so it isn't ketamine that is approved for depression but rather esketamine the active enatiomer. They only did this so that they can patent and profit.

"The wholesale cost in the developing world is between US$0.84 and US$3.22 per vial." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketamine