Dementia and other neurocognitive disorders can affect every part of your daily life. You may notice changes in your memory, thoughts, communication, or ability to manage familiar tasks. These changes can affect your mood, relationships, and independence.
If you or someone you love is experiencing cognitive changes, ketamine infusion therapy may help. At Wyckoff Wellness Center in Bergen County, New Jersey, Michael Gentile, MD, offers ketamine infusion therapy to address these problems.
If you or someone you love is living with cognitive changes, learn whether ketamine infusion therapy could help. It's not a cure for dementia, but researchers continue to study ketamine's effects on the brain and its role in treating certain co-occurring mental health conditions.
Dementia is not a single disease. It describes a group of symptoms that interfere with your memory, reasoning, language, and other thinking skills. Alzheimer’s disease is one common cause, but other conditions can also lead to cognitive decline.
These changes can take an emotional toll. You or your loved one may be suffering from:
Treating depression or anxiety may improve your quality of life, even if it doesn’t reverse the underlying cognitive condition.
Ketamine works differently from traditional antidepressants. It affects glutamate, a chemical messenger involved in communication between your brain cells, and influences pathways associated with your mood.
Many of our patients here at Wyckoff Wellness Center experience improvements in depressive symptoms. But evidence supporting ketamine as a treatment for dementia or the cognitive symptoms of neurocognitive disorders remains limited.
If you’re experiencing depression alongside a neurocognitive disorder, Dr. Gentile may determine whether ketamine is appropriate after reviewing your symptoms, medical history, medications, and overall health.
Because ketamine can cause side effects such as confusion, dissociation, and changes in blood pressure, careful evaluation is especially important for older adults and people with cognitive impairment.
No two people experience dementia in the same way. The right approach depends on the cause of the cognitive changes, your symptoms, your existing medical conditions, and your treatment goals.
Dr. Gentile evaluates your mental health concerns and discusses the treatment options that are best for you. In addition to ketamine therapy, he may recommend medication management, psychotherapy, lifestyle changes, or other interventional psychiatric services.
Watching someone you love struggle with memory or changes in personality can be very difficult. If you’re experiencing these changes yourself, you may also feel frustrated, worried, or unsure where to turn.
A psychiatric evaluation helps identify treatable symptoms and clarify what options you have. Call our Wyckoff, New Jersey, office to see if ketamine infusion therapy can be a tool in your mental health toolbox, or request an appointment through our online portal.
