Ketamine for Suicidal Patients

Daniel Wasserman, co-author of an article titled *The Influence of Ketamine on Drug Discovery in Depression* published in *Drug Discovery Today*, notes that ketamine seems to help people more quickly than traditional antidepressants. For example, SSRI medications like Lexapro or Zoloft typically take seven to 14 days to reduce symptoms.

Ketamine began its use in Belgium in the 1960s as an anesthetic for animals. The FDA approved it as an anesthetic for people in 1970. During the Vietnam War, medical professionals used ketamine to treat injured soldiers on the battlefields. Unlike other anesthetics, ketamine doesn’t slow breathing or heart rate, so patients don’t need to be on a ventilator to receive it.