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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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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