Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Researchers At San Diego Hospice Center Say Ketamine Helps Treat Depression

Doctors at the San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine are putting the "special" back in the hallucinogen known as "Special-K," or ketamine.

Doctors at the hospice center are studying the use of the powerful hallucinogenic to help battle depression.

The drug has had a variety of uses since surgeons began using it as an anesthetic for surgeries in the 1960's and during the Vietnam War; from horse tranquilizer to a popular drug among "ravers" and other people searching for a high.

But now, new research shows that low doses of the drug can ease depression by reaching areas of the brain that other anti-depressants do not.

“We know that ketamine has been used as an anesthetic during surgical procedures for decades and has solid evidence for use in cancer pain,” says Chief of Psychiatry at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, Dr. Scott Irwin.

“When evidence surfaced about five years ago for ketamine’s effectiveness in depression, the research team at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine began investigating the benefits of ketamine for helping our patients affected by severe depression.”

Irwin says more than 30 patients have been given ketamine. He plans to work with researchers across the country to show the benefits of ketamine as an anti-depressant.

“Our goal at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine is to prevent and relieve suffering and promote quality of life,” says Irwin. “Standard antidepressants do not work often enough or fast enough for relieving the tremendous suffering associated with depression for patients. Ketamine promises to work better and faster, allowing us to achieve this goal.”

Image from San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine's Facebook page

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween

Doctors at the San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine are putting the "special" back in the hallucinogen known as "Special-K," or ketamine.

Doctors at the hospice center are studying the use of the powerful hallucinogenic to help battle depression.

The drug has had a variety of uses since surgeons began using it as an anesthetic for surgeries in the 1960's and during the Vietnam War; from horse tranquilizer to a popular drug among "ravers" and other people searching for a high.

But now, new research shows that low doses of the drug can ease depression by reaching areas of the brain that other anti-depressants do not.

“We know that ketamine has been used as an anesthetic during surgical procedures for decades and has solid evidence for use in cancer pain,” says Chief of Psychiatry at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, Dr. Scott Irwin.

“When evidence surfaced about five years ago for ketamine’s effectiveness in depression, the research team at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine began investigating the benefits of ketamine for helping our patients affected by severe depression.”

Irwin says more than 30 patients have been given ketamine. He plans to work with researchers across the country to show the benefits of ketamine as an anti-depressant.

“Our goal at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine is to prevent and relieve suffering and promote quality of life,” says Irwin. “Standard antidepressants do not work often enough or fast enough for relieving the tremendous suffering associated with depression for patients. Ketamine promises to work better and faster, allowing us to achieve this goal.”

Image from San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine's Facebook page

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Cost of UC Developed Medicine to Drop

Next Article

Navy Study Tests Neck Injections

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader