Ketamine therapy is a treatment approach that uses low doses of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic medication, to manage various mental health conditions, such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
. It is not FDA-approved for these purposes, but it has been used "off-label" for treating depression, pain, and other conditions
. Ketamine therapy has been found to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects, with many patients reporting improvements in their symptoms within hours to days after treatment
. Ketamine works by blocking the activity of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, a receptor in the brain involved in the regulation of mood, cognition, and pain perception
. The treatment typically involves one or a few in-clinic ketamine dosing sessions under clinician supervision
. Ketamine has been used in hospitals and veterinary clinics as an anesthetic for and has been cited as a drug of misuse under the moniker "special K"
. Some factors that may make a person eligible for ketamine therapy include:
- Treatment-resistant depression: Patients who have not responded well to conventional antidepressant medications or other treatments
- No other medical conditions: Patients with no other medical conditions, such as seizures, substance abuse, or liver or kidney problems
Ketamine therapy is administered as an intravenous infusion, and a prescription version called esketamine (Spravato) is available as a nasal spray
. The treatment is generally considered safe, with temporary side effects that usually resolve within a few hours
