A 43-year-old man with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder causing painful muscle spasms and rigidity, experienced improved pain and function after intravenous ketamine treatment. After an initial 10-day infusion, he maintained symptom control for nearly two years with combined intravenous immunoglobulin and ketamine. When his symptoms worsened after immunoglobulin, he discontinued it and continued ketamine alone, reporting further improvement. He stopped using fentanyl patches and managed pain at home with ketamine lozenges, oxycodone-acetaminophen, and dextromethorphan. His condition remained effectively managed, allowing him to return to work and improve his quality of life. This case suggests ketamine may benefit patients with treatment-resistant Stiff Person Syndrome.
A 56-year-old woman with early-onset dementia who had not responded to standard treatments including memantine, donepezil, and rivastigmine received a series of intravenous ketamine infusions over two months. After treatment, she experienced notable improvements in cognitive function, mood, and daily living activities, reporting more mental clarity, increased focus, improved memory, and increased energy. This case suggests that IV ketamine may be a potential therapeutic option for early-onset dementia, but larger clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.