According to the CDC, the suicide rate has increased steadily since 1999. In 2010, suicide was the 11th ranking cause of death in the United States. In contrast, homicide was ranked 15th. The rate of suicide has continued to increase and is now one of the top 10 causes of death across all age groups, accounting for more than 42,000 deaths in 2014 alone. There have been nearly 6,000 suicides in Louisiana alone from 1999-2010. Researchers have implicated an increase in depression as causally related. In learning of these statistics, we became convinced that there had to be other options for this desperate population and those that serve them. The links below include just a few sources of this information:
Efficacy of Ketamine in Bipolar Depression
Leading Causes of Death by Age Group
Suicide Mortality Rates in Louisiana, 1999-2010
Over the last 20 years, dozens of studies conducted through major institutions, including Yale, the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins, and the Veterans Administration, have demonstrated the efficacy of low-dose ketamine infusions to effectively treat treatment resistant depression (TRD).
NeuroMend Infusion Center is an evidence-based center of excellence, offering ketamine infusion treatment for patients whose depressive disorders are considered treatment-resistant. We are in the process of connecting to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to contribute to research in this area of mental health, as well as to maintain the integrity of our program.
Our goal at NeuroMend Infusion Center is to offer an adjunct therapy to the treatment you are already providing your patient. We want to collaborate with you to provide the most effective treatments available for your patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD). Our screening protocols include depression and addiction screenings, medical history assessment, and pregnancy tests for women who are in child-bearing years. As part of this screening process, clarification of past psychotropic treatments and responses will be obtained. Once clinical appropriateness is determined, ketamine infusion treatment will involve a sub-anesthetic and sub-dissociative dose given slowly, monitored by licensed professionals including physicians, and built around the gold standard/best practices.
To initiate treatment for your patient, we will need patient identifying information, as well as pertinent medical records. To refer your patient to NeuroMend Infusion Center, contact us at 337-347-6655 or 877-912-3985.
Here is some research you may find helpful to refer to:
Safety and efficacy of repeated-dose intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression
Melancholic microbes: a link between gut microbiota and depression?
Five Ways to Fight Depression (Without Drugs!)
The correlation between ketamine and posttraumatic stress disorder in burned service members.
We are available to discuss the potential efficacy of our treatments for your patients. Please contact us to speak with one of our consultants.