Each year, over 700,000 people die by suicide, and many more make suicide attempts. Families, communities, and nations, as well as those left behind, are greatly impacted by suicides (WHO, 2021). Suicide is a tragedy not only for the family members left behind but for everyone involved, including the medical staff. It is a catastrophic global public health problem and is now the leading cause of death and disease on a global scale. Suicide is a complicated phenomenon and various behavioural, social, environmental, genetic, and neurobiological factors may contribute to an individual's susceptibility to suicide. The neurobiology of suicidality remains poorly understood, however, research has shown that suicide has biological underpinnings. The extant literature suggests that changes in glutamate neurotransmitter systems are associated with reductions in suicidal ideation, which may be independent of depression and anxiety symptoms (E. D. Ballard, D. F. Ionescu, et al., 2014; G. N. Pandey, 2013).
Individuals with a mental illness are thirty times more likely to die by suicide than the general population (Pompili et al., 2008) and primary care providers often see suicide victims at some stage before they die (Luoma JB, Martin CE, & Pearson JL, 2002). Therefore, health professionals have a good chance of treating patients effectively if they have effective treatment options (M. J. Crawford, 2004). One promising option is the dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine, which has shifted the focus of psychiatric neuroscience from monoamine neurotransmitter based medications to glutamatergic agents, and thus help to enhance our understanding of the neurobiology of mood disorders (Dutta, Ray, & Nagarajan, 2013; McEntee & Crook, 1993; Meldrum, 2000). In this regard, molecular and structural neuroplasticity appears to mediate the rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine (Abdallah, Sanacora, Duman, & Krystal, 2018; M. J. Y. Kang, Hawken, & Vazquez, 2022).
- Exploration of Oral Ketamine as a Rapid-Acting Anti-Suicidal Agent with Clinical and Neurobiological Outcomes
- Adem Can - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, External
- Daniel Hermens (Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteJim Lagopoulos (Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- 10.25907/00800
- Thompson Institute
- English
- 99982893402621
- Dissertation
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