Rachel Carlson

What about the other patients? So in the group that did get ketamine, 60% of those patients felt better the day after surgery. And most of those people had stayed better when the researchers checked on them two weeks later. Wow. So for context, Gina, this is much faster than something like Prozac or Zoloft, which could take at least a month to see results and has to be taken every single day.

Right. So Boris says they figured, OK, ketamine works even under anesthesia. So even if the patient doesn't know that they actually got it. So it wasn't just Cindy who felt better. Boris told me about a different patient, not Cindy, he also talked to.

Right. So Boris says they figured, OK, ketamine works even under anesthesia. So even if the patient doesn't know that they actually got it. So it wasn't just Cindy who felt better. Boris told me about a different patient, not Cindy, he also talked to.

Right. So Boris says they figured, OK, ketamine works even under anesthesia. So even if the patient doesn't know that they actually got it. So it wasn't just Cindy who felt better. Boris told me about a different patient, not Cindy, he also talked to.

He saw this patient a couple days after her surgery.

He saw this patient a couple days after her surgery.

He saw this patient a couple days after her surgery.

So statistically, there was no difference between people who got ketamine and people who got placebo.

So statistically, there was no difference between people who got ketamine and people who got placebo.

So statistically, there was no difference between people who got ketamine and people who got placebo.

And even Cindy, who did get ketamine and did feel like it helped her depression symptoms, told me she thought about whether it was really the drug that helped her or other parts of the study. Like what was it that really made her feel better?

And even Cindy, who did get ketamine and did feel like it helped her depression symptoms, told me she thought about whether it was really the drug that helped her or other parts of the study. Like what was it that really made her feel better?

And even Cindy, who did get ketamine and did feel like it helped her depression symptoms, told me she thought about whether it was really the drug that helped her or other parts of the study. Like what was it that really made her feel better?

Exactly. And she told me that she wondered, like, how far would it take other people who were struggling with something like depression if they just had this same kind of support that she got from Boris and her surgery team?

Exactly. And she told me that she wondered, like, how far would it take other people who were struggling with something like depression if they just had this same kind of support that she got from Boris and her surgery team?

Exactly. And she told me that she wondered, like, how far would it take other people who were struggling with something like depression if they just had this same kind of support that she got from Boris and her surgery team?

Boris told me that a lot of patients seem to think that if they felt better, they probably got ketamine, even if they didn't, which to him points to this expectation or hope that patients might have about being in a study where they might get some kind of drug at all.

Boris told me that a lot of patients seem to think that if they felt better, they probably got ketamine, even if they didn't, which to him points to this expectation or hope that patients might have about being in a study where they might get some kind of drug at all.

Boris told me that a lot of patients seem to think that if they felt better, they probably got ketamine, even if they didn't, which to him points to this expectation or hope that patients might have about being in a study where they might get some kind of drug at all.

Yeah, I mean, that's what Boris is saying. And what he really emphasized to me is that placebo can sort of be seen as this fake thing or a sign of failure in a study. But there's science supporting its effectiveness. It can actually change our brain chemistry. But people often see it as this imaginary treatment.