Posted by linkadge on August 9, 2010, at 9:14:20
In reply to Re: Ketamine IV yields swift AD Effect To Bipolar Pts » linkadge, posted by europerep on August 8, 2010, at 3:23:04
>I don't think the comparison with lithium is >accurate though. every substance becomes toxic >at some point, but that doesn't mean that every >substance has the potential to do good at lower >doses.
Well I just don't think we have enough data on "theraputic" doses of ketamine to know that it causes permanant cognative dysfunction.
Also, there is (as I was mentioning) a biphasic effect for NMDA antagonists. You will notice studies for both the neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of NMDA antagonists.
Even the NMDA atagonist Zinc has these properties. In low doses it has inhibitory effects, in higher doses it has excitotoxic effects.
I wouldn't equat this to the toxicity of any drug in general. Sure, citalopram will damage your brain at 1000 times the theraputic dose, but NMDA antagonists can cause neurotoxicity at say as little as 5x a dose which appears to be neuroprotective. Of course, I'm pulling those exact numbers out of nowhere, but the point I'm making is true - that there is a much narrower window for safety with NMDA antagonists then the average drug.
poster:linkadge
thread:957361
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/958027.html