A drug that has long been used as an anesthetic and later became popular to use recreationally at all-night parties has taken on a new life in the fight against depression.
And it’s making a mark here in Scottsdale.
Last week, Depression Recovery Centers opened Arizona’s first ketamine clinic for people suffering from chronic depression.
Founder Gerald Gaines said ketamine is not a first-line treatment but an option for chronic sufferers.
He said eight similar clinics exist in the country.
Gaines said 130 successful low-dose treatments have been administered at the clinic, with most patients reaching minimal depression at two months. Currently, their patient load is eight with at least nine successfully treated.
“If you can get better with therapy or fitness, you should do it,” he said. “But for those who are bipolar, or for those who have found no relief from other options, ketamine could reduce ‘suicidality.’ ”
For years, the drug has been used as an anesthetic for humans and animals. In the 1990s, it became popular for its hallucinogenic properties, known primarily as “K” or “Special K.”
Dr. Ole Thienhaus, chair of the University of Arizona department of psychology, said the drug’s use as an anesthetic for humans isn’t as common because of complaints of dreams and hallucinations.
Recent research by the Mayo Clinic and Yale School of Medicine have shown that ketamine can be an effective treatment for depression.
“Ketamine being used for depression is an interesting development,” Thienhaus said. “This knowledge has become more prevalent in the last two years or so.”
Gaines said that using the drug to fight depression is nothing new.
But he said a big obstacle to bringing it to the mainstream is the drug’s lack of patent, which expired around 20 years ago.
Ketamine is legally approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but manufacturers can only market it for the use it was originally approved for, as an anesthetic.
“Drug companies can research it, and have, but they can’t publicly say that it works for depression. The lack of a patent is a hindrance because in this case it makes it illegal for the drug companies to advertise, promote or support the use of ketamine for depression,” Gaines said. “In a quirk in the law, an independent clinic like Depression Recovery Centers can advertise and promote ketamine for depression.”
Antidepressants raise the brain’s levels of serotonin, which are chemicals associated with well being.
Gaines said that instead of influencing the activity of serotonin, ketamine works to help re-grow the damaged neurons themselves.
With exposure to ketamine, brain cells re-grow, leading to a 70 percent chance of relief from depression-related symptoms, he said.
A single treatment at Depression Recovery Centers is $750.
“Patients first start out treatments three days apart, and the time is extended as their mood stabilizes with additional treatments and therapy,” Gaines said. “Think of an average of 25 treatments per year for the first year of a patient’s treatment and then less than half that in subsequent years.”
Psychologist Ellen Diamond, who has treated patients for almost 30 years, said at first she was skeptical about ketamine’s ability to provide rapid relief from depression.
She said psychiatrists are slow to endorse the drug because they lack familiarity. Many providers are conservative about their referrals and don’t want to recommend something that could be harmful.
“Anesthesiologists, on the other hand, are very familiar and don’t hesitate using it. They’re not familiar with mental-health issues, and do not feel capable treating depression or making the diagnosis, so this treatment falls between the cracks,” she said.
Ketamine works quickly compared with antidepressants, Diamond said, adding that some people respond in hours, others take a day or two, or even a couple treatments.
“I thought it was too good to be true, but we now have another option,” she said. “If a patient is being well-served by Zoloft or Prozac, they might want to continue with that treatment. But some have tried everything and still are struggling. Ketamine could be next step for them.”
