Latest Ketamine Stories

New research shows that frequent use of ketamine - a drug popular with clubbers - is being linked with memory problems, BBC News reported.Researchers from the University College London carried out a range of memory and psychological tests on 120 people and found that frequent users performed poorly on skills such as recalling names, conversations and patterns.Additionally, the drug may also cause kidney and bladder damage, according to previous studies. The London team and charity Drugscope...

The first ever large-scale, longitudinal study of ketamine users has been published online today in the journal Addiction. With Ketamine (K, Special K) use increasing faster than any other drug in the UK (British Crime Survey, 2008) this research showing the consequences of repeated ketamine use provides valuable information for users and addiction professionals alike.For the study, researchers from University College London followed 150 people over a year to see if changes in their ketamine...

Drug treatment options for depression can take weeks for the beneficial effects to emerge, which is clearly inadequate for those at immediate risk of suicide. However, intravenous (IV) ketamine, a drug previously used as an anesthetic, has shown rapid antidepressant effects in early trials.Researchers have now explored ketamine's effects on suicidality in patients with treatment-resistant depression, and are publishing their results in the September 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry....

Long-term studies are showing an increased risk of incontinence and other health problems among Asians who use the cheap animal tranquilizer ketamine for a hallucinogenic high.The drug, which resembles cocaine but costs just 10 percent as much, was first synthesized in 1962 as a veterinary anesthetic.  It took off as a party drug about a decade ago in Hong Kong, where doctors recently found that heavy users face an increased risk of poor bladder control and long-term liver damage."The...

Data to be presented at AAN suggests glutamate receptor 'mGluR5' is clinically relevantWhen migraine strikes, because of severe pain, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sufferers are effectively disabled for up to 72 hours. Since they are forced to stop what they are doing until the pain and other symptoms subside, migraine causes a significant loss in productivity at work and the personal lives of those affected. Migraineurs "“ especially the 25% of migraineurs...

PK anesthesia denied Level I validation for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) CORONA DEL MAR, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Pulse oximeters became available in 1983, making each patient's oxygen status known on a beat-by-beat basis. Not until 1990, did the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) say that all patients should have this monitor. No articles on this critical safety subject appear in the ASA Newsletter on their web site between 1983 and 1990. Action: In 1983, Dr....

Like general anesthesia without the risks  CORONA DEL MAR, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- General anesthesia (GA) remains a popular anesthetic for cosmetic surgery. More enlightened surgeons and anesthesia providers avoid GA for cosmetic surgery. Unfortunately, the attitudes of their national organizations still lag behind these safety-first visionaries.  The public should not confuse 'safer than before' GA with 'safest achievable' anesthesia.  Were 'safest achievable'...

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The US market for the drug treatment of cancer pain in 2008 is valued at $3.1 billion, according to US Cancer Pain, a report released today by WWMR, Inc. The cancer pain market is dominated by opioid drugs, a trend expected to continue throughout the next decade. The increasing number of cancer pain patients will be the primary driver of market value during the forecast period. Few of the many drugs in development for pain conditions are seeking...

CORONA DEL MAR, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) Journal, the leading journal in the field, published the remarkable safety record of propofol ketamine (PK) anesthesia this month - no killer blood clots to the lungs (pulmonary embolism or PE) of the more than 4,000 patients over the past 16 years! This series included several hundred tummy-tuck patients. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090203/LA64906) PRS published last year that...

CORONA DEL MAR, Calif., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Barry Friedberg developed the ultra-safe, ultra-comfortable PK anesthesia technique in 1992 and has been successfully educating the public and fellow anesthesiologists about it ever since. Dr. Friedberg has received a Congressional award for PK anesthesia's great safety and usefulness to the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Benefits: Patients don't experience nausea, vomiting or grogginess in recovery. With PK anesthesia for cosmetic...