Health
Ketamine dangers in spotlight after arrests made in actor Matthew Perry’s death
Recent arrests made in actor Matthew Perry’s death have cast new light on the dangers of ketamine abuse.
Perry’s Oct. 28th death — which initially appeared to be a drowning in a hot tub at his California home — was later attributed to the “acute effects of ketamine,” as ruled by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
Several people are now charged in connection with the 54-year-old actor’s overdose death — including Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who allegedly administered excessive amounts of ketamine — as well as multiple physicians and dealers, who are said to have provided the drug.
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On the day of Perry’s death, the “Friends” star received three ketamine injections, according to information in the assistant’s plea agreement.
Here’s a deeper dive into ketamine and the issues around it.
Recent arrests made in actor Matthew Perry’s death have cast new light on the dangers of abusing ketamine. (Getty Images)
What is ketamine?
Intended for use as an anesthetic to be handled by medical doctors and veterinarians, ketamine is also used illegally as a recreational drug.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) describes ketamine as a “dissociative drug,” which means it causes people to feel “separated or detached” from their bodies or physical surroundings.
Perry’s Oct. 28th death — which initially appeared to be a drowning in a hot tub at his California home — was later attributed to the “acute effects of ketamine.” ( Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
For some, it can cause hallucinations and alter people’s thoughts and emotions, according to the ADF.
“Ketamine is in the PCP (phencyclidine) family,” Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, told Fox News Digital.
(PCP is a dissociative, mind-altering drug that may lead to hallucinations.)
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The off-label use of ketamine has “skyrocketed” in recent years, “despite limited data supporting the safety and efficacy of that practice,” according to a report from Yale School of Medicine.
The drug is usually sold as a colorless, odorless liquid or as a white or off-white powder, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) website.
Five people were arrested and charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death, including assistant Kenny Iwamasa and Jasveen Sangha, aka “The Ketamine Queen.” (Getty Images/MEGA)
When used in a powder or liquid form, it is often mixed with beverages or smoked with marijuana or tobacco.
The powder form can also be snorted or pressed into tablets.
As a liquid, ketamine can be injected, the NDIC states.
Ketamine approved for depression in health care setting
In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ketamine in a nasal spray format (Spravato, or S-ketamine) for treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation.
It is intended to be used in combination with antidepressant pills only under the supervision of a medical professional.
“S-ketamine is regulated very tightly,” the Yale report stated. “It has to be delivered intranasally, in a certified health care setting under the supervision of a health care professional, and patients must remain in the facility for two hours after dosing.”
Ketamine is intended to be used in combination with antidepressant pills only under the supervision of a medical professional. (iStock)
Ketamine is more commonly used for treatment of severe depression and for pain management, according to Siegel.
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Dr. Justin Gerstner, psychiatrist and chief medical officer at Ellie Mental Health in Minnesota, uses ketamine therapy in his own practice, saying the response from clients has been “great,” as Fox News Digital previously reported.
Ketamine therapy eliminates the need for patients to take medication every day, according to the doctor.
The drug is usually sold as a colorless, odorless liquid or as a white or off-white powder, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) website. (Getty Images)
Gerstner’s practice usually administers ketamine to clients via IV injection in two- to three-hour sessions, partnered with psychotherapy before and after treatment, he said. While ketamine can work as a “really powerful anti-depressant and anti-suicidal drug,” it is “not the right answer for everybody or everything,” he previously told Fox News Digital.
When does ketamine become deadly?
There are risks and limitations involved, Gerstner warned — including the potential for ketamine to be abused.
There isn’t too much regulation surrounding how ketamine treatments are administered, Gerstner noted, since the drug was previously approved for anesthetic use.
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“The field is wide open, and it’s a little bit like the Wild West,” he said. “This is a really powerful medication and the way that it’s used can vary quite drastically.”
At high doses, the drug can cause adverse health issues that affect cardiovascular, respiratory and neurologic function, which can be fatal, said the American Addiction Centers website.
“Common causes of overdose death include excess sedation, respiratory failure, low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, coma and seizures.”
Some of the risks include elevated blood pressure, difficulty breathing, amnesia, seizures, addiction, problems with judgment and coordination, and a lower urinary tract irritation called ulcerative cystitis, according to the same source.
“Common causes of overdose death include excess sedation, respiratory failure, low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, coma and seizures,” said Siegel.
In Perry’s case, the report stated that given the high levels of ketamine found in his blood, “the main lethal effects” from the ketamine included “cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”
Angelica Stabile of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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A new test could make it easier to detect high-risk prostate cancer cases earlier.
The blood test, called Stockholm3, is showing promise in clinical trials, beating out the traditional, standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden studied the test’s efficacy in more than 12,000 men — mostly Swedish or European — aged 50 to 74.
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All participants were tested with PSA and Stockholm3 and were followed for two years. During the follow-up period, 443 men were diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests.
Stockholm3 detected 90% of aggressive prostate cancer cases compared to 74% for PSA tests. (iStock)
Stockholm3 missed “significantly fewer” serious cancer cases than PSA. The number of men incorrectly classified as high-risk was similar across both tests, according to a press release.
Thorgerdur Palsdottir, a researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, wrote in a statement that one of the major challenges in prostate cancer is being able to identify the cases that are “truly dangerous.”
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“Our results show that Stockholm3 identifies significantly more aggressive cancer cases than PSA without increasing the number of unnecessary follow-ups,” she said.
“These results point toward a potential change in how prostate cancer screening can be conducted,” the researcher added. “A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures.”
“A more precise blood test could enable earlier detection of aggressive disease while reducing the number of unnecessary follow-up examinations and procedures,” a researcher commented. (iStock)
Study co-author Hari Vigneswaran, chief medical officer of Stockholm3-maker A3P Biomedical, commented on these “promising” findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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He confirmed that the PSA has been the standard for prostate cancer screening since the 1990s despite its “well-documented limitations.”
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“It leads to invasive and costly follow-up testing, contributes to over-diagnosis of non-aggressive cancers and, most importantly, it misses a substantial share of aggressive disease,” Vigneswaran said.
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival is close to 100%. (iStock)
When aggressive prostate cancer is found while still confined in the prostate, the five-year survival rate is close to 100%, which highlights the importance of early detection, according to the doctor.
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Data from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER database show that metastatic prostate cancer has risen over the past decade, suggesting that “we have not improved early detection of the aggressive, curable disease that screening is meant to catch,” Vigneswaran said.
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“The goal of screening is to find the cancers that need treatment while they are still curable, without raising the number of men who screen positive but don’t have aggressive disease,” he said.
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher. (Getty Images)
Stockholm3 could reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs and biopsies, according to the researcher.
The findings did have some limitations. Stockholm3 is an investigational device and is not available for sale in the U.S., Vigneswaran noted.
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The test estimates a man’s risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but a biopsy remains the gold standard for confirming the disease.
The company plans to seek FDA approval to use the test for routine screening and will “generate the evidence needed to support that pathway, including U.S. data,” Vigneswaran said.
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Scientists have linked eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli to better lung health.
There are two primary forms of vitamin K found in foods. The primary kind is vitamin K1, found mainly in vegetables, which plays a major role in the body’s blood-clotting process.
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Vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, certain dairy products, eggs and meats and helps regulate calcium in the body and supports bone health.
Researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University examined whether dietary intake of vitamins K1 and K2 was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung function.
Leafy green vegetables are high in vitamin K1, a nutrient that researchers have observed conributes to improved lung health. (iStock)
“Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, are among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide and were the third leading cause of death in 2019, accounting for 4 million deaths and affecting 454.6 million individuals globally,” the scientists reported in the introduction to their study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Although asthma and COPD can be managed with available treatments, neither condition is curable, underscoring the need for effective prevention strategies,” they added.
The leading cause of COPD is smoking, the Mayo Clinic reported. Exposure to other irritants, such as dust, chemicals and pollution, can also cause it.
The researchers analyzed data from 179,062 participants over a 10-and-a-half-year period and concluded that, “Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD.”
Researchers found that people who increased their vitamin K1 intake were less likely to develop COPD. (iStock)
Participants who consumed the most vitamin K1 had a 16% lower likelihood of COPD, the researchers observed. The effects were more pronounced in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations.
Consumption of vitamin K2 did not result in lower COPD rates.
“No association was observed for vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma,” the researchers also wrote.
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Associate Professor Marc Sim, who was involved in the study, said that it’s likely Vitamin K activates a protein that may help keep lung tissue flexible and prevent damage.
Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that vitamin K1 directly reduces COPD risk, only that higher intake was associated with better lung health.
Researchers have associated higher consumption of leafy green vegetables with better lung function. (iStock)
Just one extra serving of leafy greens “is an achievable way to boost your vitamin K1 intake,” said Chengfeng Li, one of the study’s researchers.
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Other foods rich in vitamin K1 include collard greens, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens.
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