In an editorial published online October 31 in Lancet Psychiatry, Erick H. Turner, MD, who sits on one of the FDA advisory committees that recommended approval of Spravato, said the drug did not meet standard criteria for FDA approval and that there was little evidence to support its safety and efficacy based on data from three short-term, phase 3 trials and one withdrawal trial.

The center, believed to be the first and largest of its kind, will use psychedelics to study the mind and identify therapies for diseases such as addiction, PTSD, and Alzheimer's. https://hub.jhu.edu/2019/09/04/hopkins-launches-psychedelic-center/ Note from Dr. Milbrandt - I will be training next year to offer these therapies once the FDA opens up expanded access research programs. It probably won't happen until 2021 but exciting none-the-less!

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/11/712295937/ketamine-may-relieve-depression-by-repairing-damaged-brain-circuits?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=health Ketamine appears to restore faulty connections between brain cells, according to research performed in mice. Kevin Link/Science Source

What's with esketamine? Much has been made in the news lately about the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of esketamine (Spravato), the nasal S-ketamine spray by Janssen Pharmaceutical, a company owned by Johnson & Johnson. Ketamine is a medicine developed more than 50 years ago for anesthesia during surgery and other painful procedures. High-dose ketamine has been used safely for that purpose in children, adults, and animals for decades. About 16 years ago, medi

Bill is a professional musician who was unable to play for the past year due to PTSD and chronic pain. After just 1 ketamine infusion, he is back playing his saxophone for his fans again. Here in Bill's own words how ketamine treatment has given him his life back.

Lisa has struggled for years with depression and chronic pain for years. Hear in her own words just how much ketamine has helped her recover.

A recent Yale study has shed new light on the mechanism behind ketamine’s behavior as an antidepressant. Conducted by the Yale School of Medicine in collaboration with the University of Manchester and the National Center for Post-Tramautic Stress Disorder, the research was published in the journal Chronic Stress on Sept. 21, 2018. The study found that the antidepressant behavior of ketamine is linked to increased connectivity, which refers to the linking of sets of neurons, i

It’s been way too long since there was a new class of drugs to treat depression. Ketamine might be the solution. Find out more in a New York Time opinion piece from Nov 30, 2018.

Many chronically depressed and treatment-resistant patients experience immediate relief from symptoms after IV infusion of small amounts of the drug ketamine. Current evidence suggests that ketamine helps regenerate synaptic connections between brain cells damaged by stress and depression, according to researchers at Yale School of Medicine as published in the journal Science. Ketamine works on an entirely different type of neurotransmitter system than current antidepressants