More Successful Than Ketamine – A Shocking Depression Treatment - SciTechDaily

Electroshock therapy, which is unfavorably depicted successful movies and TV shows, consistently produces amended outcomes for slump that is resistant to treatment.

According to an investigation of six studies that precocious published their findings successful JAMA Psychiatry, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is amended than ketamine successful rapidly relieving large depression.

According to the World Health Organization, slump is simply a wide information that affects astir 5% of individuals globally (WHO). Feeling sad, irritable, losing enjoyment successful formerly delightful things, and adjacent enduring inexplicable symptom oregon fatigue for weeks astatine a clip are each signs of depression. The astir communal first-line attraction for slump is the usage of an oral antidepressant (in conjunction with psychotherapy). However, if oral antidepressants are ineffective oregon if the diligent is successful contiguous information of self-harm, determination are other, quicker therapy options, including ECT and, much recently, ketamine oregon esketamine.

Ketamine is little often utilized successful the US than esketamine, a nasal spray that has been fixed support by the Food and Drug Administration to dainty depression. However, determination are nary studies comparing the effectiveness of ECT with esketamine. Ketamine, a sister cause of esketamine, has been studied. Ketamine is typically utilized arsenic an injectable anesthetic successful medicine, but it has lately been investigated arsenic a fast-acting involution to assistance those suffering from superior depression.

T. Greg Rhee, a psychiatric epidemiologist astatine the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and associates from Harvard University, Kyungnam University successful Korea, McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital successful Boston, University of Toronto, VA New England Mental Illness successful West Haven, and Yale University examined six planetary objective proceedings studies contrasting ketamine with ECT for large depression. The trials, which were carried retired successful hospitals successful Sweden, Germany, Iran, and India, progressive 340 patients successful total. 

All six of the studies independently recovered that ECT was much effectual than ketamine astatine relieving terrible slump symptoms.

“ECT is consistently much palmy than ketamine” astatine helping patients with superior depression, says Rhee. “We recovered nary differences by age, sex, oregon geographic location. So we could accidental anyone who is ECT eligible volition benefit.”

Although ketamine did mostly assistance patients, ECT had amended results overall. Ketamine could beryllium a viable attraction for radical who cannot acquisition ECT. The broadside effect profiles of the 2 treatments differed, with ECT much apt to origin headaches, musculus pain, and representation loss, portion ketamine was much apt to origin dissociative symptoms, vertigo, and treble vision.

There are 2 further studies comparing ECT and ketamine ongoing, and Rhee hopes to adhd their information to the investigation erstwhile they are available.

“Every azygous survey straight reports ECT works amended than ketamine. But radical are inactive skeptical of ECT, possibly due to the fact that of stigma,” Rhee says, oregon antagonistic depictions successful films specified arsenic “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and shows specified arsenic “Stranger Things.” “We request to amended nationalist consciousness of ECT for treatment-resistant depression.”

Reference: “Efficacy and Safety of Ketamine vs Electroconvulsive Therapy Among Patients With Major Depressive Episode: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” by Taeho Greg Rhee, Ph.D., Sung Ryul Shim, Ph.D., Brent P. Forester, MD, MSc, Andrew A. Nierenberg, MD, Roger S. McIntyre, MD, George I. Papakostas, MD, John H. Krystal, MD, Gerard Sanacora, MD, Ph.D. and Samuel T. Wilkinson, MD, 19 October 2022, JAMA Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3352