'Ketamine is a promising new antidepressant which works in a different way to existing antidepressants. We wanted to see whether it would be safe if given repeatedly, and whether it would be practical in an NHS setting. We especially wanted to check that repeated infusions didn't cause cognitive problems,' explains principal investigator Dr Rupert McShane, a consultant psychiatrist at Oxford Health and a researcher in Oxford University's Department of Psychiatry.
Andrew Farmery of the Nuffield Division of Anaesthetics has co-authored a paper on the first UK study of the use of ketamine intravenous infusions in people with treatment-resistant depression.
