Recreational drug Special K at centre of new treatments for depression

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Ketamine, a popular anesthetic with another side of the psychedelic club drug called Special K, has entered the mainstream as an innovative and potentially revolutionary treatment for depression.

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It will be the centerpiece of a new clinic at The Royal in Ottawa.

Esketamine and ketamine, delivered as nasal drops, are important treatments offered at the new BMO Depression Treatment Innovations Clinic at the Royal Institute of Mental Health.

The clinic aims to help people with hard-to-treat depression and is supported by a $2 million donation from BMO. This is the largest corporate donation in The Royal’s history.

Dr Jennifer Phillips, Interim Scientific Director of the Royal Institute of Mental Health, said the clinic will offer hope to depressed patients who have failed other treatments. Patients who meet the requirements are referred to the clinic through a specialist at the Royal Hospital or Ottawa Hospital.

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These treatments will be combined with research aimed at developing more innovative treatments over the next few years, Phillips said.

“About 30 percent[of patients]feel that their symptoms don’t respond to conventional antidepressants,” she says.

Ketamine is now considered an important option for patients whose depression can be life-altering and even life-threatening.

Esketamine, a nasal spray approved for use by Health Canada, causes patients to respond better than traditional antidepressant treatments, Phillips said.

Phillips calls it a “game changer.” One reason for this is its ability to reduce depression in many people who have previously been unresponsive to treatment, and how quickly it works.

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“If this works, we will see dramatic changes,” she says. “[Patients]may have lost all hope. They may have suicidal thoughts. After treatment, those thoughts disappear.”

The drug is considered an important innovation in how depression is treated at a time when there is a growing demand for treatment of mental illness, including depression.

Traditional antidepressants work by altering the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in a person’s brain. Both are related to mood and well-being.

Ketamine acts on the neurotransmitter glutamate, which plays an important role in cell signaling in the brain.

Phillips said researchers are still studying exactly how it works, but it increases neuroplasticity, allowing the brain to form new pathways and connections. Ketamine and escatamine appear to exert their effects much more quickly and broadly than traditional antidepressants.

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“Discovering the antidepressant effects of ketamine was a paradigm shift. They work differently, so it’s definitely very exciting,” Phillips said.

With a growing number of private clinics offering ketamine therapy for depression and other mental illnesses across Canada, Royal’s new clinic has emerged.

Some already exist in Ottawa. Operated by the Canadian Psychedelic Healing Center (CCFPH), the newest facility is scheduled to open on Sparks Street in late June.

It will be the first in the city to offer ketamine-based psychotherapy, according to Dr. Neil Chadda, medical director of CCFPH and Ottawa Family Physician.

The clinic offers orally administered ketamine along with psychotherapy to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma, addiction, substance use disorders, and eating disorders.

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A two-hour session, in which treatment begins once a patient reaches a “dissociated state,” costs about $715. Evaluation is covered by his OHIP, but treatment is not. However, it is covered by some private health insurance plans.

The company says more than 93% of treated patients saw improvements in anxiety and depression scores.

The company describes KAP as “a holistic therapy that opens new perspectives on mental health, emotions and relationships, and provides opportunities for lasting change.”

We also operate clinics in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. For more information, please visit ccfph.com.

With the rise of private ketamine clinics, some researchers in the United States believe that the use of ketamine drugs in the treatment of depression and other mental health disorders is not well-known and therefore possible. It warns that it should be limited to clinical trials and academic settings as much as possible. will be studied further.

That’s one of the goals of The Royal’s new clinic, Phillips said.