The drug prevents the idea of ​​suicide immediately

US scientists have found ketamine, which acts on the brain's glutamate receptors, which can improve mood for several hours and prevent suicidal thoughts.

According to a April report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), suicide death rates are increasing in the country. From 1999-2014, the number of suicides increased by 24%, the rate of 10.5-13 per 100,000 people.

According to The Wall Street Journal, when treating patients who intend to commit suicide, doctors often deal with mental disorders such as anxiety or depression, but that is not enough. Treatments such as antidepressants may take several weeks to relieve symptoms. Patients often have to try some medicines to see if they are appropriate. Also, not everyone who intends to commit suicide is also a mentally ill person.

Scientists have found a drug called ketamine . Ketamine can lift the mood after a few hours, being used in higher doses as an anesthetic for decades. In recent years, it has been studied to help depression, especially for those with illnesses that do not respond to other drugs.

Ketamine can lift the mood after a few hours, being used in higher doses as an anesthetic for decades.(Photo: Istock).

A study published in May in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry performed in 14 depressed patients who had suicidal thoughts for at least three months. After 6 intravenous infusions with ketamine, 7 of the patients found improvement in mood and suicidal thoughts disappeared, 2 after 3 months of treatment were effective, the rest remained relapse.

Dawn F. Ionescu, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study, said: "The hope that ketamine can be used as a treatment to prevent people from having intention and self-action. It also contributes to treatment for any latent mental illness ".

Researchers have conducted a large study to search for so-called biomarkers only, like patterns of activity in the brain or the level of stress hormones in the blood, which can help identify those who have risk of suicide. Janssen, a research participant who presented the results at the Biological Psychiatry Scientific Conference in May, showed a version of ketamine, called esketamine, that reduces depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts in depressed patients. .

37-year-old Sarah Kramer in Medford struggled with severe depression and suicidal thoughts since she was a child."I didn't want to exist , " Kramer said. Over the years, she has used many different antidepressants, including Prozac and Wellbutrin but only temporarily.

In the summer of 2014, she participated in a clinical trial for ketamine and intravenously. During the treatment, she felt her vision was blurred, feeling that her legs kept walking straight to a distant place and almost immediately, thoughts of suicide disappeared. After the treatment ended, her mood was very good for about a month but she stopped taking her medication when the idea of ​​suicide returned."It's really hard not to abuse it , " she said.

Molecular model of ketamine.(Photo: PASIEKA).

Researchers say the drug has several short-term side effects including hallucinations and a sense of separation, sometimes depending on the drug. "You can see a disturbing trail, sound, and light and feel disconnected from your senses , " said Carlos A. Zarate Jr., director of neurobiology and treatment. Mood disorders at research programs at the National Institute of Mental Health says.

The studied patients tend to depend on ketamine as the truth. Dr. Zarate and colleagues recently discovered a metabolite of ketamine that they believe may be safer, without side effects or addiction.

Some studies found that lithium , a drug commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder may also reduce suicidal behavior. Clozapine, a commonly used antipsychotic in schizophrenia, also reduces suicide behavior in these patients. Both drugs can have serious side effects. Ketamine is a safe alternative to suicide.