Is ketamine the answer to chronic pain? New results raises doubt

Citamine is a drug that is commonly used for procedural anesthesia and short -term pain. Cydamine is also repeatedly described outside the designation to manage chronic pain such as nerve pain, fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome. It is one of several anti -NMDA receptors – a group of drugs that are believed to reduce pain by preventing some brain receptors participating in pain signals.

The review, conducted by UNSW Sydney researchers, Australia neuroscience (NUTA), and Bronil University in London, examined 67 experiments that included more than 2,300 adult participants. He evaluated five anti -NMDA receptors: ketamine, mimnin, dexomethorfan, amantadine, and magnesium. The results do not show any clear evidence of the benefit of the vitamin in chronic pain and identified the increased risk of harmful effects such as delusions, delirium, madness, nausea and vomiting. The evidence has been ranked low to very low, due to small study sizes and the quality of the bad method.

“We want to be clear – we do not say that the perjdamin is ineffective, but there is a lot of uncertainty,” said Michael Ferraro, a doctoral candidate at UNSW and Neta, the first author of The Review. “Data can indicate interest or no effect at all. For the time time, we don’t know.”

Researchers discussed antiquities across various cases of chronic pain and doses strategies, but they did not find any clear evidence of interest in any specific case or dose. The side effects were a great concern, especially with intravenous use.

“The most common negative events that we have seen were mental effects such as delusions, deliriums and great madness, as well as nausea and vomiting.” Ferraro said. “These effects are sad for many patients. Doctors often try to balance the dose to relieve pain without leading to these symptoms, but this has not always been achieved.”

The review also did not find any studies reported on two main results: whether the ketamine reduces the symptoms of depression or the use of opiates. This is noticeable, as ketamine is often suggested to patients with symptoms of depression or tolerance of opiates.

“This group of drugs and in particular, is used relatively common for chronic pain all over the world. However, we do not have convincing evidence that it provides meaningful benefits for people who suffer from pain, even in the short term,” said Nile Ocunil, a professor at Bronil University in London, the author of the review review of the review. “This seems to be a good reason for caution in the clinic and clearly indicates an urgent need to conduct high -quality experiments.”

The authors hope that the review will help inform patients and doctors who weigh the benefits and possible damages, and to direct future research. While more evidence is needed, this review highlights the importance of high -quality experiments to understand whether the vitamin has a role in caring for chronic pain.

“We have seen the damage that can come from taking medications that have been developed for acute pain and applied to chronic pain, opioid materials are a major example. Now we see a similar pattern with ketamine,” said co -author James McCalli, Professor at Usw and senior researchers at Neura. “Slowly reducing the description of opiates, there is an increasing demand for alternatives, but we have to be keen not to rush to use widely without strong evidence.”