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This book
reviews the acute and chronic effects of ketamine on both adult and developing animals and humans. Topics include pharmacological properties, impact on various organ systems, developmental neurotoxicity in the developing brain, postmortem toxicology, as well as the epidemiology of misuse and patterns of acute and chronic toxicity and the psychosocial aspects of ketamine addiction. The book also explores clinical applications at acceptable doses, including possible contribution to the treatment of depression. The broad-based coverage is designed to promote heightened attention on the subject and encourage further research into the beneficial clinical uses of ketamine.
List of contents
Ketamine use and misuse-Impacts on the nervous system: An overview. Clinical applications and side effects of ketamine. Diverse pharmacological properties of ketamine. Developmental neurotoxicity of ketamine in the developing brain. Ketamine-Epidemiology of misuse and patterns of acute and chronic toxicity. Imaging the effects of ketamine use and abuse in the brain. Does sniffing drugs affect the respiratory system? An example being ketamine. Long-term ketamine use causes damage to the pancreas and adrenal glands. Ketamine uropathy: Hong Kong experience. Ketamine and the lower urinary tract: Summary of pathophysiological evidence in humans and animal models. Postmortem toxicology of ketamine. The antidepressant effects of ketamine and the underlying mechanisms. Social correlates of ketamine and other psychoactive drug abuse in Hong Kong. Mechanisms of ketamine-induced neuroplasticity: Potential effects on brain and behavior. The influence of ketamine on our understanding of depression. Clinical testing for ketamine: How it inspires the need to develop emerging drugs-of-abuse analysis in a clinical laboratory.
About the author
Professor David T. Yew
is the professor emeritus of anatomy in the School of Biomedical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has engaged in research of human and animal neuroscience, drug discovery, and drug toxicology, using various techniques of pathology, immunocytochemistry, cytochemistry, and imaging. Professor Yew's area of specialty is research on neurodegeneration, particularly damage to the nervous system brought about by ketamine abuse, and is now one of the major global leaders in this area.
Summary
Increasing use of ketamine as a recreational drug in Asia, Europe, and America is a great burden on society at large, leading to aspirational strain, unemployment, and crime. These societal effects have led to growing interest among researchers and clinicians in ketamine’s effects on various systems of the body. Ketamine: Use and Abuse reviews the acute and chronic effects of ketamine on both adult and developing animals and humans.
Providing an exhaustive review of the literature, the book is supplemented by the introduction of new data and research. Topics include:
- The pharmacological properties of ketamine
- The impact of ketamine on various organ systems, including the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal, respiratory, adrenal, and renal systems
- Developmental neurotoxicity in the developing brain
- Postmortem toxicology
- The epidemiology of misuse and patterns of acute and chronic toxicity
- The psychosocial aspects of ketamine addiction
- Clinical applications at acceptable doses, including possible contribution to the treatment of depression
The contributions in this book represent an initiative to investigate the different facets of ketamine beyond the known psychosocial factors related to addiction and its traditional use as an anesthetic agent. The broad-based coverage is designed to promote heightened attention on the subject and encourage further research into beneficial clinical uses.
