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被诊断为晚期癌症的人在诊断后可能会面临强烈的生存压力. St和ard mental health treatments may not always fully meet the needs of such patients.
In an ongoing clinical trial, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute 和 Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI), both at the University of Utah (美国), 是否在测试一种新的治疗方式，将氯胺酮剂量与谈话疗法结合起来，试图在其他干预措施无效时大发娱乐人们.
研究ers in the Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) Clinic 希望他们独特的迷幻药物和心理疗法的结合可以为那些被诊断为不能手术的胃肠道癌症的患者大发娱乐提供缓解.
Addressing a constellation of challenges
无法手术治疗的癌症在心理上尤其困难. “许多新诊断出癌症的人认为手术是最好、最确定的治疗方法,” Laura Lambert, MD, surgical oncologist 和 professor of surgery at Huntsman Cancer Institute, director of the peritoneal malignancy program at the U, 和 co-principal investigator on the clinical trial. “It makes sense to just cut it out. 不幸的是, when people are diagnosed with metastatic cancer, 手术通常不是一个有意义的选择，因为不是所有的癌症都可以通过手术切除. 手术治疗无望对生存痛苦的真正影响尚不清楚，这也是该试验正在调查的另一个方面.”
晚期癌症的诊断可能会带来一系列不同于其他精神健康状况的挑战, 解释了 本·刘易斯，医学博士, member of Huntsman Cancer Institute, assistant professor of psychiatry at HMHI, 和 co-principal investigator on the clinical trial. “病人 with cancer are often grappling with what is meaningful in life, the nature of their own mortality, 和 conceptions about what their life was going to be like. And they’re often dealing with other really difficult challenges—isolation, 孤独, symptoms of the illness, symptoms of treatment.”
“这些都是传统抗抑郁药不一定能解决的重大问题，”他补充说 Kevin Byrne, MD她是亨茨曼癌症研究所的研究员，也是HMHI的精神病学临床讲师. “Traditional treatments work for some people, 但大发娱乐的工具箱里还没有足够的工具来处理与生存压力有关的问题.”
“我对大发娱乐正在努力为迫切需要它们的患者增加有希望的新治疗方法的想法充满希望."
Kevin Byrne, MD
Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator
HMHI clinical instructor of psychiatry
安娜·贝克，医学博士, 亨茨曼癌症研究所支持肿瘤学和幸存者主任，斯宾塞福克斯埃克尔斯医学院支持和姑息治疗项目主任, 他说氯胺酮辅助心理治疗对癌症患者的一个主要优点是见效快. “Conventional antidepressants, which are commonly used to help address cancer-related distress, may take up to four weeks before an effect is apparent,贝克说. 但“在氯胺酮辅助的心理治疗中，患者通常在一次疗程中就报告了缓解.” She adds that ketamine rarely interacts poorly with other medications, which is especially important for cancer patients on complex medication regimens.
研究人员希望氯胺酮辅助的心理治疗能够潜在地大发娱乐提供一些大发娱乐，大发娱乐人们摆脱有害的思维模式. Like other psychedelic medicines, ketamine can induce a critical window of time during which the brain works differently, forming new connections between neurons more easily. Within this window, 人们可以更容易地摆脱痛苦的思维模式，并开始建立新的东西, especially if the ketamine exposure occurs within a therapeutic context.
“For a period of time following administration of ketamine, the brain becomes more open 和 flexible to new learning 和 new ways of adapting,” Lewis 解释了. “氯胺酮辅助的心理治疗试图利用这个开口进入那里并做一些工作.”
Embracing patients’ experiences
Most other ketamine clinics focus on the medication alone, 使用低剂量来减少潜在的痛苦的改变思想的经历的可能性. But at the KAP clinic, ketamine itself is only half the story. Rather than treating a dissociative experience as an unwanted side effect, 研究人员的目的是承认和探索氯胺酮可能引起的经验和见解, as well as the way those insights are related to patterns of suffering.
Before 和 after each ketamine dose, 患者参加谈话治疗，旨在大发娱乐处理他们的经历，并充分利用氯胺酮所能引起的意识改变状态. "We carefully prepare patients for the mind-altering effects of ketamine, 和 we’ve curated an environment that enhances 和 supports their experience,伯恩说. “With the help of therapists, we ensure that patients navigate this experience in the most fruitful way possible."
苏西莽 is a patient in the KAP clinic 和 says that, while she was initially worried about whether the treatment would work, 控制, professional environment was “a huge relief.” She adds, “It’s not a wild trip, it’s peaceful. There is always a medical professional in the room making sure I’m safe.”
“氯胺酮放松了对所有困难事物的控制，让我放手去生活.”
苏西莽
KAP clinic patient
While the clinical trial (NCT06001372) is still in progress, 伯恩说，他注意到KAP对那些经历存在主义痛苦的病人有几个好处. These include enhanced mood, reduced anxiety, changes in perspective, greater flexibility 和 openness, a sense of connection or unity with others, improvements to relationships, 和 even spiritual experiences. 他说：“许多患者发现，这些因素的混合会带来有益的转变。. “这种转变有助于他们解决和参与那些往往由危及生命的诊断引发的深刻的存在问题.”
“With a terminal diagnosis like mine, things get thrown into disarray,” Mang adds. “在这些疗程中，我开始感到更加放松，不再担心过去或现在. I had a lot of fear 和 anxiety, but the sessions have shut that tension down.”
Using science to improve care
KAP诊所的研究人员计划用先进的数据来支持他们的临床试验，这样他们就可以得到最好的治疗. In a complementary clinical trial, 刘易斯和伯恩计划使用机器学习软件来分析患者的视频，以寻找行为线索，从而预测哪种干预措施最有效. 该软件可以测量从面部表情到语言模式的一切——“任何你能想到的行为指标。,刘易斯说. By doing a deep dive into patient video data, 研究人员希望找到一种模式，大发娱乐他们为不同的人群量身定制这种新兴的治疗方法.
Byrne强调，使用氯胺酮等致幻药物治疗存在主义痛苦的研究仍处于初级阶段, but that what he’s seen in his own clinical practice gives him a lot of hope. “使用致幻剂治疗危及生命的疾病中存在的痛苦和士气低落的科学还很年轻, but I’ve seen very powerful results in some of our patients,伯恩说. “虽然大发娱乐仍然需要更多的科学来确保大发娱乐的临床实践以循证医学为基础, 我对大发娱乐正在努力为迫切需要的患者大发娱乐提供有希望的新治疗方法的想法充满希望.”
要了解更多关于KAP诊所或安排评估，请致电435-658-9263或发送电子邮件 hmhikapclinic@hsc.犹他州.edu.