First large-scale population analysis reinforces ketamine's reputation as antidepressant
The study, published May 3 in Scientific Reports , also uncovered antidepressant effects for three other drugs typically used for other purposes -- Botox, the pain reliever diclofenac and the antibiotic minocycline. "Current FDA-approved treatments for depression fail for millions of people because they don't work or don't work fast enough," said senior author Ruben Abagyan, PhD, professor of pharmacy. "This study extends small-scale clinical evidence that ketamine can be used to alleviate depression, and provides needed solid statistical support for wider clinical applications and possibly larger scale clinical trials." Abagyan led the study with pharmacy students Isaac Cohen and Tigran Makunts, and Rabia Atayee, PharmD, associate professor of clinical pharmacy, all at Skaggs School of Pharmacy. The FAERS database contains more than 8 million patient records. The research team focused on patients in the database who received ketamine, narrowing the...