For those suffering from a dependency on alcohol, finding a way out of the vicious cycle is very difficult. For most people who are in recovery for alcohol addiction, it’s a years-long battle that takes many attempts to succeed. As anyone with an addiction to drugs or alcohol will tell you, setbacks are a part of recovery. However, it looks like medical experts might have found a solution to the problem of alcohol addiction for some people in the form of ketamine.

That’s right, ketamine. Often derided as a drug that humans should never use due to its reputation as a horse tranquilizer, ketamine could play a role in helping those with an alcohol addiction bring an end to their drinking issues. A recent study that was published in the Nature Communications journal found that a single dose of ketamine could, alongside some mental exercises, reduce the need for alcoholics to pick up the bottle.

The study worked by looking at 90 different people in the UK, all of which had an average consumption of 30 pints in a week. They were given a drink to enjoy while they looked at photos of beverages ranging from orange juice and soda to beet and wine. Then, they gave some of the participants a small dose of ketamine.

Known to have an impact on memory, they noticed that by day 10 of the study that big changes were afoot. By giving someone a mixture of the ketamine alongside memory therapy, the urge to drink was gradually reduced in each participant. By giving the recipient ketamine, they were able to halve their weekly consumption over a period of around 9-months.

For anyone who understands how addictive alcohol can be to the wrong person, this is hugely impressive. Long-term improvement was noted, and due to the speed at which they could get started the results were almost immediately recognizable.

While ketamine might hold a rather negative reputation in the modern world, it does have a variety of positive uses. When used in the right way, it could be a solid solution to combatting issues such as depression and alcoholism.

Citation

https://nypost.com/2019/11/26/ketamine-could-help-alcoholics-cut-back-study/