Matthew Perry’s death was due to the “acute effects” of ketamine, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office this Friday, December 15. Toxicological analyzes established that given the “high levels of ketamine found in their post-mortem blood samples, the main causes of death would be both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”
His death, on October 28, was also due to other factors, according to the same source: “drowning”, “coronary heart disease”, but also “effects of buprenorphine”, a medication prescribed to combat opioid addiction.
A diverted anesthetic and analgesic product.
According to the Drugs Info Service, dependent on the French Public Health Agency, ketamine is originally a drug used as anesthesia. It was first synthesized in 1962 and was used especially on soldiers during the Vietnam War.
Therefore, the product is used in human medicine but also, and above all, in veterinary medicine. However, ketamine also deviates from its medical use and “is used for its stimulant effects at low doses, and hallucinogenic and dissociative effects at higher doses.”
It is usually consumed in the form of a white powder in the middle of the night. The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) notes a “significant increase” in its use “as a festive product or in the context of chemsex”, but also “for the treatment of chronic pain” in the context of non-medical use. .
Feeling of dissociation
In fact, ketamine has an analgesic effect, that is, it reduces the perception of pain. In higher doses, it causes dissociative effects, that is, “a feeling of detachment (or dissociation) of the mind and body,” detail the Canadian authorities.
As a result, people have a loss of physical sensation in their body, a lack of balance, and sometimes even a feeling of being unable to move and speak. Effects may include severe hallucinations and near-death experiences (NDEs).
In this regard, Matthew Perry, who had made his addiction problems public, explains in his memoirs that the ketamine received in a detoxification clinic in Switzerland had made him feel like he was “dying.”
The risks of repeated consumption
According to the ANSM, “prolonged and/or repeated use of ketamine causes risks of damage, often serious, to the liver, bile ducts or urinary tract.” In addition, Canadian authorities warn of “an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, which can cause strokes, accidents and heart attacks.”
“Because ketamine itself can cause an overdose and is also a central nervous system depressant, simultaneous use with other depressants (including alcohol and opioids) can be dangerous. It may cause respiratory depression or stop breathing due to complete,” they add.
Used as an antidepressant.
Ketamine can also be used as a treatment for depression, especially antidepressant-resistant forms. “While traditional antidepressant treatments take time to take effect (an average of three weeks), ketamine produces a rapid antidepressant effect, just a few hours after administration,” explains Inserm.
In March 2019, US health authorities authorized ketamine to treat patients with antidepressant-resistant depression, or even anxiety or chronic pain.
The report on Matthew Perry’s death states that the actor was “receiving ketamine infusion treatment for depression and anxiety.” However, apparently the last dose was taken a week and a half before his death.
“The ketamine present in his body at the time of death could not come from this infusion treatment, as the half-life of ketamine is three to four hours, or even less,” the analysis continues, reported by SkyNews.
The 54-year-old actor was found unconscious by his assistant in the jacuzzi of his home in Los Angeles, United States.
Source: BFM TV
