The drug has long been administered intravenously in clinics, but more recently a nasal spray using a derivative called esketamine has increased in popularity.
More than half taking the ketamine pill went into remission for their depression, while 70 percent of theJulaine Allan, an expert on mental health and addiction at Australia's Charles Sturt University who was not involved in the study, praised the trial while emphasizing that more research is needed.Michel Hofmann, a psychiatrist at Geneva University Hospitals, said there is"real enthusiasm" in the medical community for ketamine's potential for treating depression.
But it can cause memory loss – and some patients fear the procedure after seeing depictions of it in films such as"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".Some psychiatrists remain hesitant to prescribe ketamine for depression, fearing their patients could end up misusing the drug. US police are investigating how Perry obtained the doses that caused his death – he had reportedly not had a supervised infusion session for several days.