Journal of medical case reports
March 3, 2024
Alireza Teymouri, Hadis Nasoori, Maryamsadat Fakheri et al.
20 citations
Ketamine abuse can cause damage to the bile ducts and liver, a condition known as cholangiopathy. A systematic review of case reports found that affected patients are typically young men around 26 years old, presenting with abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Imaging often shows dilation of the common bile duct. Most patients improve with supportive care, but the condition requires a multidisciplinary management approach. The review highlights the need to consider ketamine abuse in young patients with unexplained biliary symptoms and abnormal liver function.
Journal of medical case reports
October 31, 2015
Lorenz Breuer, Burkhard S Kasper, Bernd Schwarze et al.
16 citations
A 22-year-old man developed visual memories, nausea, vomiting, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures with additional grand mal seizures after taking a cumulative 38 g dose of ibogaine in two doses. He was treated with midazolam and levetiracetam; drug screenings and brain imaging were negative. Knowledge of ibogaine's side effects has mainly come from reports of cardiovascular complications; seizures are rarely mentioned and experimental findings are inconsistent. It seems that ibogaine acts like a proconvulsive drug at high doses.
Journal of medical case reports
December 10, 2009
Amr A Guenedi, Ala'Alddin Al Hussaini, Yousif A Obeid et al.
9 citations
Spirit possession beliefs are common across many cultures, yet their relationship to brain function remains underexplored. In a 22-year-old Omani man whose caregiver attributed his altered consciousness to possession, specific brain abnormalities were identified: reduced blood flow in the left temporal lobe and a structural anomaly in the left basal ganglia, both correlating with his distress. The case illustrates how possession can function as a culturally accepted expression of distress and underscores the value of examining such experiences through biomedical brain imaging alongside cultural understanding.
Journal of medical case reports
September 23, 2023
Tianyi Hui, Song Guo
2 citations
A 49-year-old Chinese man with a family history of Parkinson's disease developed early-onset Parkinson's at age 38 after using MDMA. MDMA likely precipitated his symptoms earlier than in his relatives. He later used methamphetamine to augment Parkinson's treatment. Dopamine replacement therapy and deep brain stimulation can perpetuate addictive behaviors like dopamine dysregulation syndrome, worsening substance use in vulnerable individuals. He was also diagnosed with HIV at age 43, and antiretroviral therapy contributed to depressive symptoms, complicating substance use management. The case suggests MDMA use may trigger early Parkinson's in genetically susceptible people, highlighting risks of using substances to alleviate symptoms.
Journal of medical case reports
December 24, 2024
S Asad, K Latifzai, V T Eliopoulos et al.
1 citation
Two patients with chronic, treatment-resistant conditions—a 56-year-old man with PTSD and suicidal ideation and a 52-year-old woman with major depressive disorder—received ketamine infusions (nine over 18 months for the man, five over one month for the woman). Both experienced significant and sustained symptom improvement. Electroencephalogram recordings showed distinct changes in brain activity that persisted for months after treatment, suggesting altered brain function. Ketamine may offer relief for some patients with refractory depression and PTSD, but more research is needed to understand how it works and to refine treatment protocols.
Journal of medical case reports
July 13, 2026
Kei Torii, Ryo Nishitani
A 48-year-old Japanese man with severe chronic primary low back pain reported over 360 dreams during insight-oriented psychotherapy from 2009 to 2025. In 2014, he received five low-dose intravenous ketamine infusions (15 mg; 0.23 mg/kg) and described a void-like dissociative state during the first session. After coding a random subset of 50 dreams, obstruction decreased from pre- to post-ketamine periods (treating clinician: 6/9 vs 4/30; external psychiatrist: 6/9 vs 7/30), while a social-interaction/role-completion motif increased post-ketamine (2/9 pre; 10/30 and 11/30 post). Dream content shifted from recurrent obstruction toward imagery of movement, interpersonal engagement, and everyday role completion. These hypothesis-generating observations describe ketamine-associated phenomenology and longitudinal dream-content change without making efficacy claims.