Ketamine-dependent patients with persistent psychosis have higher neurofilament light chain levels than patients with schizophrenia.
An-Nie Chung, Ming-Chyi Huang, Tung-Hsia Liu, Hu-Ming Chang, Po-Yu Chen, Yu-Li Liu, Francesco Bavato
Asian Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104167 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 181 |
| Population | Treatment-seeking ketamine-dependent patients, medication-free patients with schizophrenia, and healthy controls |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Keywords | Ketamine dependence Ketamine psychosis Neurofilament light chain Persistent psychosis Schizophrenia Ketamine addiction K addiction Nfl |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Ketamine-dependent patients with persistent psychosis had the highest blood NFL levels, significantly exceeding those in ketamine-dependent patients without persistent psychosis, schizophrenia patients, and healthy controls. |
Abstract
Ketamine can induce persisting psychosis in a subset of individuals who use it chronically and heavily. Previously, we found that the psychopathology and cognitive impairments in patients with ketamine dependence (KD) exhibiting persistent psychosis (KPP) bear resemblances with schizophrenia, albeit with less severity in those with no persistent psychosis (KNP). Furthermore, we also showed that patients with KD had higher blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NFL), a biomarker for neuroaxonal injury, compared to healthy controls. In this study, we aimed to investigate the differences in NFL levels between patients with KPP and KNP while comparing the levels of individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We enrolled 64 treatment-seeking ketamine-dependent patients (53 with KNP and 11 with KPP), 37 medication-free patients with schizophrenia, and 80 healthy controls. Blood NFL levels were measured by single molecule array immunoassay. NFL levels were highest in the KPP subgroup, followed by the KNP subgroup, and then the schizophrenia and control groups (mean ± SD: 24.5 ± 24.7, 12.9 ± 10.9, 9.2 ± 12.2, and 6.2 ± 2.2 pg/mL, respectively), with no significant difference observed between the schizophrenia and control groups. We found that KD is associated with higher NFL levels compared to schizophrenia, with the KPP subgroup showing the most consistent alterations. The observation of accentuated neuroaxonal pathology in individuals with KPP implies that this clinical manifestation is associated with a specific neurobiological phenotype, despite prior evidence suggesting syndromal similarity between schizophrenia and KPP.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Year Trends in Use of Hallucinogens and Other Adjunct Drugs among UK Dance Drug Users People who use drugs in dance contexts | 2006 | Repeated-measures cross-sectional survey | |
| Preliminary analysis of positive and negative syndrome scale in ketamine-associated psychosis in comparison with schizophrenia Healthy subjects, ketamine abusers, and schizophrenia patients | 2014 | Cross-sectional study | n = 998 |
| Ketamine as a primary predictor of out-of-body experiences associated with multiple substance use Online survey respondents | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 192 |
| Self-reported prevalence of dependence of MDMA compared to cocaine, mephedrone and ketamine among a sample of recreational poly-drug users Global non-treatment-seeking sample of last year users of MDMA, cocaine, mephedrone,... | 2014 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| Near-Death States Reported in a Sample of 50 Misusers Previous ketamine misusers who reported a ketamine-related near-death experience | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 50 |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Subanesthetic Effects of the Noncompetitive NMDA Antagonist, Ketamine, in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry March 1, 1994
- A REVIEW OF KETAMINE ABUSE AND DIVERSION Depression and Anxiety August 1, 2016
- Association of Ketamine With Psychiatric Symptoms and Implications for Its Therapeutic Use and for Understanding Schizophrenia JAMA Network Open May 1, 2020
- Ketamine for Depression, 4: In What Dose, at What Rate, by What Route, for How Long, and at What Frequency? The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry July 20, 2017
- Brain damages in ketamine addicts as revealed by magnetic resonance imaging Frontiers in Neuroanatomy May 22, 2014
and 10 more in the library