Session I: KETAMINE FOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS: THE KNOWNS AND UNKNOWNS
Monday, February 7, 2022 – 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm ET
Format: Virtual Event
Dr. Venkat Bhat
The discovery of ketamine’s antidepressant effects represents a breakthrough in the treatment of depressive disorders. Further, ketamine has rapid antidepressant effects and acts through the glutamatergic system which is distinct from conventional antidepressants which take a few weeks for their antidepressant effects and act through the monoaminergic system. Ketamine also has antisuicidal effects and there are ongoing studies examining ketamine for stress-related disorders. Intranasal esketamine has been approved by FDA and Health Canada in the treatment of depression.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to appreciate the following:
- Evidence for ketamine in the treatment of depression and other disorders.
- Practical aspects of ketamine administration through different routes of delivery.
- Challenges with the knowns and unknowns of treatment with ketamine.
Speaker
Dr. Venkat Bhat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is currently a staff psychiatrist based at two Depression Centres: The Centre for Depression and Suicide Studies at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Poul Hansen Depression Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. At St. Michael’s Hospital, he is the Director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program which offers novel psychopharmacological (e.g. IV ketamine/other anesthetic agents), neurostimulation (e.g. rTMS, ECT, emerging neurostimulation modalities) and digital therapeutic (mobile-based monitoring and interventions) interventions for Mood and other Disorders. At Toronto Western Hospital, he has a focus on invasive neurostimulation (Deep Brain Stimulation and Invasive Brain Mapping). Dr. Bhat collaborates closely with anesthesia, imaging, informatics, neurology and neurosurgery to offer emerging and procedural interventions for psychiatric disorders, his research program aims to understand treatment-response with these emerging interventions.
