Ketamine and Its Anti-Microbial Effect
Now more than ever, understanding how infections are transmitted can help you avoid getting sick.
Raise your hand if you like cleanliness or if you're against getting infections! Well if you raised your hand, you are in luck. We are excited to share another health property of ketamine you may not have been known.
Ketamine is an anti-microbial (aka kills or stops growth of microorganisms)!!!
In studying eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms in vitro, ketamine short-circuits the growth and spatial expansion of three microorganisms, Stachybotrys chartarum, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Borrelia burgdorferi, at doses efficient at reducing depression-like behaviors in mouse models of clinical depression.
In a study by Gocmen and colleagues they found that high doses of ketamine in the laboratory setting was able to kill bacteria [1]. We agree with the authors when they state they do not recommend the use of ketamine for severe infections such as sepsis (infection of the blood) as the doses which were effective against bacteria was very high (up to 2000 micrograms) and certainly not the dose given during ketamine infusions.
In a different study out of Brazil, Begec and colleagues found ketamine was able to maintain its antimicrobial effect, even when mixed with pro-microbial propofol (yup, "Jackson juice") [2]. These two medications are often mixed and used in the clinical setting for procedural sedation or anesthesia.
Ketamine intervention limits bacterial growth and clone expansion in vitro.
Now you aren't going to convince any doctor to use ketamine to fight an infection. However, we wanted to share how ketamine works on so many pathways and processes in the body, and this may give us clue as to why its such a powerful & transformative medicine.
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Raise your hand if you like cleanliness or if you're against getting infections! Well if you raised your hand, you are in luck. We are excited to share another health property of ketamine you may not have been aware of. Ketamine is also an anti-microbial (aka kills or stops growth of microorganisms)!