Ketamine could help suicidal people struggling with dark thoughts, new study claims

Researchers cautioned that further studies needed to assess potential long-term risks

Ketamine could be used to treat patients with severe suicidal thoughts. (PA Archive)

The class B drug ketamine could help to treat people suffering from severe suicidal thoughts, a study has suggested.

Researchers from the University of Montpellier in France said the sedative could save lives, as it appears to alleviate dark thoughts in patients admitted to hospital for their mental health.

The finding was based on a controlled trial involving 156 adults with severe suicidal ideas, which ran from April 2015 to March 2019 in seven French teaching hospitals.

The participants included people with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. However, patients with a history of schizophrenia were excluded from the study.

After being randomly divided into groups, roughly half of the patients were given two 40-minute ketamine drips at 24 hour intervals, while the rest received placebo intravenous infusions instead.

On the third day, 63 per cent of those who had the drug were in full remission, compared to 31.6 per cent of those who had saline injections.

However, ketamine’s effectiveness waned over time, according to the researchers. By week six, 69.5 per cent of the ketamine group no longer felt suicidal. The figure was 56.3 per cent among the other participants.

Those with bipolar disorder saw the most benefit from ketamine, while patients with major depression had the least.

However, the researchers, whose work has been published by the BMJ, noted that the findings applied to different diagnostic groups were limited by their small size.

Although the team found the side effects of ketamine were minor and had diminished by day four, they cautioned that more research was needed to examine its benefits.

“Ketamine is a drug with a potential for abuse. Longer follow-up of larger samples will be necessary to examine benefits on suicidal behaviours and long term risks,” they wrote.

Commenting on the study, Riccardo De Giorgi, a PhD student at the University of Oxford, said: "These findings indicate that ketamine is rapid, safe, and effective in the short term for acute care in hospitalised suicidal patients.”

"This new trial challenges current thinking about ketamine,” he added, referring to the prevailing opinion that those with major depression benefit the most from receiving the drug.

Additional reporting from SWNS

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.