Depression and Suicidality in the elderly population - Ketamine infusions can provide a welcome breakthrough.

KCSA Clinics have treated patients aged from 13 to 83-years-old. Many elderly patients find the side effects of traditional AD's, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics intolerable. Ketamine, administered using a finely calibrated syringe driver and titrated to response, has an excellent safety profile in the elderly population and is usually well-tolerated.

A small RCT out of Australia and published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry back in 2017, noted a response and remission rate of 68.8% in elderly patients after ketamine treatment. This is certainly in line with our experience in this group.

(Note: Neither KCSA nor the APA endorse the administration of ketamine subcutaneously, as employed in this study)

Read about the RCT

"I have been depressed since childhood. I don't know what to do with the new way I am feeling now - this feeling is foreign to me."

(75-year-old KCSA patient after ketamine infusions)

Suicidal intent may be missed in the elderly using standard depression rating scales.

The take home message in this study published last month in the Am Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry is that seniors may not fulfil usual criteria for major depression, while still having a high level of suicidal intent. Using age-specific suicide rating scales is recommended.

KCSA offers outpatient ketamine infusions at the following locations:

BEDFORDVIEW (GP)

CONSTANTIA (WC)

UMHLANGA (KZN)

HILTON (KZN)

Contact a KCSA branch

"Ketamine can induce a lasting dyskinetic effect."

"Ketamine infusions are well-tolerated in patients with PD."

"Depression is a critical problem for many PD patients, and is possibly worsened by L-DOPA."

Parkinson's Disease affects millions worldwide. Ketamine has proven benefits.

Pain and depression are prevalent non-motor features of Parkinson's Disease. For these, ketamine infusions offer a clear benefit. However, the ability of ketamine to significantly reduce L-DOPA induced dyskinesia (LID) was not anticipated.

Read about 5-case reports that illustrate ketamine's efficacy in treating LID.

Link to the article

In the next newsletter..

1 in 7 women battle with
Postpartum Depression (PPD)

70-80% of women experience mild 'baby-blues'. Those with a history of depression are 35% more likely to develop clinical PPD. In others, PPD can trigger the onset of MDD.

Studies show that women who receive ketamine at Caesarian section have significantly lower depression scores at 2 and 4 weeks postpartum than controls.

We will look into the benefits of ketamine infusions for PPD in the next newsletter.

How did KCSA start in South Africa?

Ketamine Clinics of South Africa (KCSA) was founded by Dr Alan Howard, a Consultant in Emergency Medicine who returned home permanently to his native South Africa from Ireland in 2019.

To read more about Dr Howard and KCSA's flagship clinic in the Natal Midlands in two informative articles published in South African Psychiatry click on the link below.

Read about the start of KCSA

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