It’s coming, and we’ll be there!
This conference, hosted by Rupert McShane, Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Professor, Oxford, UK will be a stunning international hybrid event and the list of speakers reads like the Who’s Who of the field. This is, quite simply, the most important and prestigious conference on ketamine and related compounds for mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions this year.
Period.
And it’s not too late to sign up. Come in person, show up online. Listen and learn from the people who actually break fresh ground. If you are a patient, a study participant, a scientist, scholar, researcher, a doctor, therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, anesthesiologist, a policy-maker, journalist, a stakeholder, investor, funder, or regulator…. clear your calendar.
Don’t miss this opportunity.
Experienced researchers and clinicians from all over the world are coming together in a unique forum to talk about… everything. Like what? Like practice-defining large randomized clinical trials, exciting preclinical studies shedding light on mechanism of action, the operation of ketamine clinics, the use of ketamine in the emergency room…. updates about new devices, new forms of administration, regulatory issues, exploration of novel compounds — the breadth and depth is pretty stunning, along with asynchronous presentations, and e-posters. There is so much more, so many more presentations that we can’t describe it all here, but if you are interested, you can be a part of it. You can join us. Stream us. You can be on the cutting edge.
If you remember, the first Ketamine and Related Compounds Conference in Oxford, UK in 2018 proved to be monumental in the findings and research that was presented. Those were early days. Rupert was young. (We were all young–my goodness!) I was there presenting a poster on my earliest findings with using ketamine for suicidal thinking in my own practice. Real world research. Real world results. Later, I published a large retrospective analysis on using ketamine to stop suicidal thinking in the office.
At that first conference in Oxford in 2018, we pointed out how diligently we work in psychiatry. And even more so in the emerging field of therapeutic ketamine for psychiatric conditions, to gather information.
How we read the research, scour the published studies in the field, pore over data, gather and analyze the latest information. We keep up with whatever is happening. The science…. and the misinformation. (And wow, has there been misinformation: sensationalism, commercialization, pseudoscience, hucksters. Be careful out there.)
In those early years, when off-label ketamine treatment for treatment resistant depression was finding its way into real world practice, the common complaint was that there was too little research.
Too little information. Too many unknowns. Not enough data. No clear protocols. Some said it was like the wild west out there.
(Some say it still is.)
But five years and one pandemic later — with war exploding in Ukraine — depression, isolation, suicide, trauma, and anxiety are skyrocketing.
And despite an explosion of research on the mechanisms of action of ketamine, and the use of ketamine for suicidal thoughts, mood disorders, PTSD, alcohol and cocaine addiction….. even with all of that, there are still physicians and therapists who claim there is still too little research on ketamine and related compounds in psychiatry for them to recommend it.
Here’s to bringing them (and you!) important, relevant, game-changing information…. data that is transforming our field, and that we hope will be able to change people’s lives.
What a privilege it was to be in Oxford, UK at the beginning in 2018 exchanging ideas and learning from the world’s leading ketamine researchers, scientists, clinicians and thought leaders! Their work, and the work of many before them, has opened doors for thought-provoking and ground-breaking new treatments in psychiatry.
Now, once again, Ketamine2022 and @Oxfordpsych is presenting the brightest and best international researchers and experienced clinicians on ketamine.
Here are just a few (with big apologies because I can’t do them–and the rest of the best–justice.)
Carlos Zarate from NIMH is kicking off the conference and is an undisputed leader in ketamine research for psychiatric disorders. He’ll speak on glutamatergic modulators and next generation antidepressants. What refreshing hope it brings to look forward to new medicines that will give depressed persons a chance to feel better again.
Roger McIntyre from Toronto will address the real world evidence that supports long term treatment with ketamine, and how the face of depression has transformed in the wake of ketamine treatment. (And he’ll be engaged in what is sure to be a fascinating debate on whether current data in the field supports widespread therapeutic use of ketamine in psychiatry
Jeff Becker and Jason Wallach will speak on a new subcutaneous delivery system they’ve been developing for ketamine. Look how far we’ve come!
And then Jason Wallach comes back again (full of brilliance and passion!) to dive into dissociatives–NMDA receptor antagonism and structure/activity relationships.
I’ll speak on the results from a brand new clinical trial my team and are are conducting using ketamine in the treatment of chronic anorexia — with a therapeutic ketogenic diet (yep! in anorexia) followed by a series of ketamine infusions. (The publication is in the review process, so this is the first sneak peak at the data.)
Gerald Sanacora will present the closing talk, expounding on lessons learned during two decades of ketamine research.
(Let’s just say Rupert knows how to keep people in their seats til the very end!)
But there’s so much more in between!
Lisa Monteggia is talking about the mechanism for rapid and prolonged antidepressant action. You don’t want to miss this!
Chadi Abdallah will present data on PTSD treatment: a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) of ketamine in veterans. And how does ketamine affect the connectome?
Pouya Movahed Rad presents ECT vs ketamine: results of a 1 year randomized, open-label trial in resistant depression
Emma Robinson will talk on Filling the Half Empty Glass, referring to ketamine and negative affective bias
David Monks will speak on the results of a feasibility study using ketamine to prevent postpartum depression after a planned C-section
Paul Glue will be talking about the Bedroc Study, using controlled release ketamine tablets for treatment-resistant depression
Rebecca Price will speak on extending the benefit of a single ketamine infusion with automated neurocognitive training
Robert Shoevers will present qualitative data on patient experiences with oral esketamine treatment
Alison McInnes presents real world data from the Osmind data platform
David Barbic’s presentation on Agitation in the ER: an RCT of ketamine vs midazolam
Rod Machado-Vieira presents his work on kynurenine pathway and biomarkers of response to ketamine
Terry Kelly breaks ground with a single, ascending dose study of R-ketamine
Amanda Jones will give a sneak peak at AXS-95, a new oral NMDA receptor antagonist for major depression
Dong Jing Fu will speak on long term efficacy data for esketamine
Esther Hagai introduces an oral form of esketamine for daily at home use (all eyes on this one!) I bet it’ll generate a lot of interest
Gisèle Pickering will talk about using ketamine pain and depression both in RCTs and in real world clinical practice
Polymni Georgiou will present data on how CRF primes the antidepressant response to ketamine and its metabolites
Fabrice Jollant presents the results from a French multicenter RCT using IV ketamine for severe suicidal ideation
Joshua Rosenblatt will speak on whether all depression subtypes respond similarly to ketamine
These descriptions barely scratch the surface. (Apologies to all!) The depth and breadth of the research that is about to be presented is, quite simply, extraordinary.
Treatment of depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, social anxiety, substance use disorders, suicidal ideation has transformed this century. And transformed how we look at things (….like even flavonoids…. social media….. and neglect).
So why do we do this?
Why do we read journals, attend conferences, talk to each other on the phone, compare outcomes, present, and publish our own papers about the therapeutic use of ketamine?
Because people suffer. Because we want to know what else is being discovered to help more people. We want to see people get BETTER who’ve suffered without relief from severe treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, social anxiety, PTSD, substance and alcohol use disorders, suicidal thinking, and eating disorders.
We want to learn what works and why with ketamine and related compounds. And when it doesn’t work, why not?
So we travel across the world in the midst of a pandemic to sit in a seat and listen and learn and share. Or we tune in to watch the conference online, never wanting to miss a thing.
It’s because of all the researchers who study and publish their findings from every continent that we have such effective treatments in psychiatry now — one of the most groundbreaking being ketamine. Ketamine and other compounds have opened countless doors for patients who suffer.
Jump in. We hope you can attend this breakthrough informative gathering, either in person or online.
To the restoration of your best self,
