Ketamine-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders
Ketamine has been shown to mitigate withdrawal symptoms during treatment for substance use disorders which is unsurprising when it is considered that the NDMA receptor on which it acts is known to be involved in triggering symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal (Bayard et al., 2004; Pizon et al., 2018; Shah et al., 2018).
Among the benefits of ketamine for the treatment of substance use disorders are its fast-acting nature, short half-life, and the absence of long-term impairment associated with its clinical use (Cho et al., 2005; Kraus et al., 2017).
Ketamine has been shown to demonstrate benefits for people with various substance use disorders both as a stand-alone treatment and when combined with psychotherapy.
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Ketamine Treatment
Several studies have been conducted in recent years showing the benefits of using ketamine on its own as a medical treatment for opioid use, cocaine use, and alcohol withdrawal. If you are interested in exploring this body of literature in further detail, please use the links below to read the study abstracts.
Key Studies
Opioid Use
Alcohol Withdrawal
Cocaine Use
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy
Over the past 30 years, a number of studies have also been conducted showing the efficacy of combining ketamine with psychotherapy in the treatment of a range of different substance use disorders. If you are interested in exploring this body of literature on ketamine-assisted therapy in the treatment of substance use disorders in further detail, please use the links below to read the study abstracts.
Key Studies
Opioid Use
Cocaine Use
Alcohol Use
Cannibis Use
Learn More
If you are interested in learning more about the use of ketamine in the treatment of substance use disorders, we invite you to consider listening to Treating Addiction with Ketamine: Elias Dakwar.
References
Azhari, N., Hu, H., O'Malley, K. Y., Blocker, M. E., Levin, F. R., & Dakwar, E. (2021). Ketamine-facilitated behavioral treatment for cannabis use disorder: A proof of concept study. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 47(1), 92–97.
Bayard, M., McIntyre, J., Hill, K. R., & Woodside, J., Jr (2004). Alcohol withdrawal syndrome. American family physician, 69(6), 1443–1450.
Cho, H. S., D'Souza, D. C., Gueorguieva, R., Perry, E. B., Madonick, S., Karper, L. P., Abi-Dargham, A., Belger, A., Abi-Saab, W., Lipschitz, D., Bennet, A., Seibyl, J. P., & Krystal, J. H. (2005). Absence of behavioral sensitization in healthy human subjects following repeated exposure to ketamine. Psychopharmacology, 179(1), 136–143.
Dakwar, E., Hart, C. L., Levin, F. R., Nunes, E. V., & Foltin, R. W. (2017). Cocaine self-administration disrupted by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine: a randomized, crossover trial. Molecular psychiatry, 22(1), 76–81.
Dakwar, E., Levin, F., Foltin, R. W., Nunes, E. V., & Hart, C. L. (2014). The effects of subanesthetic ketamine infusions on motivation to quit and cue-induced craving in cocaine-dependent research volunteers. Biological psychiatry, 76(1), 40–46.
Dakwar, E., Levin, F., Hart, C. L., Basaraba, C., Choi, J., Pavlicova, M., & Nunes, E. V. (2020). A Single Ketamine Infusion Combined With Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Midazolam-Controlled Pilot Trial. The American journal of psychiatry, 177(2), 125–133.
Dakwar, E., Nunes, E. V., Hart, C. L., Foltin, R. W., Mathew, S. J., Carpenter, K. M., Choi, C. J. J., Basaraba, C. N., Pavlicova, M., & Levin, F. R. (2019). A Single Ketamine Infusion Combined With Mindfulness-Based Behavioral Modification to Treat Cocaine Dependence: A Randomized Clinical Trial. The American journal of psychiatry, 176(11), 923–930.
Dakwar, E., Nunes, E. V., Hart, C. L., Hu, M. C., Foltin, R. W., & Levin, F. R. (2018). A sub-set of psychoactive effects may be critical to the behavioral impact of ketamine on cocaine use disorder: Results from a randomized, controlled laboratory study. Neuropharmacology, 142, 270–276.
Grabski, M., McAndrew, A., Lawn, W., . . . Morgan, C. J. A., (2022). Adjunctive Ketamine With Relapse Prevention–Based Psychological Therapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 179(2), 152-162.
Jovaisa, T., Laurinenas, G., Vosylius, S., Sipylaite, J., Badaras, R., & Ivaskevicius, J. (2006). Effects of ketamine on precipitated opiate withdrawal. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 42(8), 625–634.
Kraus, C., Castrén, E., Kasper, S., & Lanzenberger, R. (2017). Serotonin and neuroplasticity - Links between molecular, functional and structural pathophysiology in depression. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 77, 317–326.
Krupitsky, E., Burakov, A., Romanova, T., Dunaevsky, I., Strassman, R., & Grinenko, A. (2002). Ketamine psychotherapy for heroin addiction: immediate effects and two-year follow-up. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 23(4), 273–283.
Krupitsky, E. M., Burakov, A. M., Dunaevsky, I. V., Romanova, T. N., Slavina, T. Y., & Grinenko, A. Y. (2007). Single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for people with heroin dependence. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 39(1), 13–19.
Krupitsky, E. M., Ya Grinenko, A., Berkaliev, T. N., Paley, A. I., Tetrov, U. N., Mushkov, K. A., & Borodikin, Y. S. (1992). The combination of psychedelic and aversive approaches in alcoholism treatment. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 9(1), 99-105.
Mollaahmetoglu, O. M., Keeler, J., Ashbullby, K. J., Ketzitzidou-Argyri, E., Grabski, M., & Morgan, C. J. A. (2021). "This Is Something That Changed My Life": A Qualitative Study of Patients' Experiences in a Clinical Trial of Ketamine Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 695335.
Pizon, A. F., Lynch, M. J., Benedict, N. J., Yanta, J. H., Frisch, A., Menke, N. B., Swartzentruber, G. S., King, A. M., Abesamis, M. G., & Kane-Gill, S. L. (2018). Adjunct Ketamine Use in the Management of Severe Ethanol Withdrawal. Critical care medicine, 46(8), e768–e771.
Shah, P., McDowell, M., Ebisu, R., Hanif, T., & Toerne, T. (2018). Adjunctive Use of Ketamine for Benzodiazepine-Resistant Severe Alcohol Withdrawal: a Retrospective Evaluation. Journal of medical toxicology: official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology, 14(3), 229–236.
Wong, A., Benedict, N. J., Armahizer, M. J., Kane-Gill, S. L. (2014). Evaluation of Adjunctive Ketamine to Benzodiazepines for Management of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 49(1).