Frequently Asked Questions

Isn’t ketamine a horse tranquiliser?

While ketamine is perhaps best known for its use in veterinary medicine, it was initially developed for use in humans as an anaesthetic. Ketamine is widely used in general hospitals across the world for this purpose. It is important to note that it is not uncommon for medicines to be effective and safe in both animals and humans: alongside ketamine, a number of antibiotics, anti-hypertensives and pain medications are used in both veterinary and human medicine.

Why ketamine?

Studies have shown that ketamine has an acute antidepressant effect and may improve learning of new information, both of which may promote continued abstinence in alcohol dependent individuals. Pilot work conducted in the 1980s found promising reductions in relapse rates in alcohol dependent individuals following ketamine treatment. However, this has not yet been tested robustly, and this is the purpose of the present trial.

Is it safe?

Ketamine is safe and well tolerated in humans at the doses chosen for this study. Like all medicines, ketamine can cause side effects. Common side effects include hallucinations, increased blood pressure and increased heart rate. Not everyone will experience side effects, however, and any effects experienced will resolve quickly after the infusion of the medication has finished. All participants in this study will be supervised while the drug is administered and in the short term after administration.

Aren’t you just swapping one addiction for another?

Since ketamine can be abused recreationally, one concern is that participants may become dependent on ketamine instead of alcohol. This trial involves only three, low-dose infusions of ketamine, with no scope for further treatment once participation ends. We have shown that the doses of ketamine used in this study are not in themselves rewarding, and recently alcohol-detoxified individuals given ketamine were not more likely to go on to abuse this drug. The risk of an individual becoming dependent on ketamine as a result of this trial is therefore low.