I just have to say, for the record, that there are a lot of together people on this forum who are entirely supportive of the work of Robert Schwartzman, M.D.

I know "Kit Deluca" personally. I do not believe that she holds the views that Vicc would ascribe to her. Indeed, the CNN piece correctly states that the ketamine treatment coma has helped roughly 50% of the people who have had it. And yes, I was one of those many people who were told by Dr. Schwartzman that he could and would “cure me” when it didn’t pan out that way, but I don’t hold it against him. The fact was that I wasn’t an ideal candidate for the treatment, simple as that. But it doesn’t negate the underlying and evolving science.

I know that some feel otherwise, and that's their right, but this forum should NOT be understood to be a place that supports a unitary view that Dr. Schwartzman is a snake oil salesman.

There is a lot of science out there about the role of ketamine, not only as an NDMA receptor antagonist, but, in the piece posted by Roz earlier today, a drug that actually suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory immunological proteins that would otherwise develop immediately after surgery. See, http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=13236 (Pretty amazing when you look at it that way, isn't it?)

Indeed, if you pay attention to the CNN piece, they are talking not just about ketamine, but other immunologically based treatments that were coming down the pike. I have seen absolutely nothing in the intervening half-year that contradicts that view.

Finally, I know that there is a view out there that hold that “I’ll stick with stuff I can understand.” I’ve got to say, coming at this from the perspective of someone who satisfied his science requirements in college by taking Intro Bio, Ecology and Astronomy (Space Rocks for Jocks), that it behooves each and every one of us to do the heavy lifting ourselves, because our doctors may not feel obliged to do it for us. Go out and buy Molecular Biology made simple and fun, D.P. Clark and L.D. Russell (Cache River Press, 2000) or Clinical Physiology made ridiculously simple, Stephen Goldberg, M.D., (MedMaster, Inc. 2004), and then start digging!

See you in the stacks.

Mike