VOA健康报道2024--What Is Ketamine?

An investigation¹ into the death of American actor Matthew Perry has led to criminal charges against five people. Perry, a star of the popular television series Friends, died suddenly in October. He was 54. Doctors who examined his body after death said Perry died from an overdose of the powerful drug ketamine.

So what is ketamine?

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic². The drug is often used to put people into a deep sleep for medical operations, also called surgery. The treatment is called general anesthesia. A doctor can inject the drug into a muscle or through a liquid flow directly into a patient's veins³.

The drug's chemistry is similar to the recreational drug called PCP. Some people use ketamine recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can affect breathing and the heart.

Ketamine becomes popular

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ketamine for use only for general anesthesia. However, American doctors are free to prescribe drugs for treatments other than those approved by the FDA. This is known as off-label use.

Ketamine use has seen a huge, fast rise in recent years as a treatment for pain and mental health disorders⁴, including depression and anxiety.

Perry was using it to treat depression. His usual doctors were treating him with what is called ketamine infusion⁵ therapy. However, investigators⁶ say the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him as much as he wanted.

Last week, government lawyers said Perry got ketamine illegally through a group that included two doctors, Perry's assistant and a woman they identified as the "Ketamine Queen." Perry's assistant injected the actor with ketamine - including several times on the day Perry died.

How else is ketamine being used?

Emergency medical workers also sometimes use ketamine to sedate⁷ people who appear to be out of control, aggressive or a threat to themselves or others. Some states and agencies around the country have begun to reconsider this use of ketamine because of the drug's health risks.

In 2019, an American court found two emergency medical workers guilty in the overdose killing⁸ of a teenager in Colorado. The medical team injected the man with a deadly amount of ketamine during a police operation.

An Associated Press investigation found that, generally, use of ketamine and similar drugs as a policing or security tool has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years.

Words in This Story

overdose -n. a lethal⁹ or toxic¹⁰ amount (as of a drug)

euphoric -adj. marked by a feeling of great happiness and excitement: characterized by, based on, or producing euphoria

hallucination -n. the awareness¹¹ of something (as a visual image, a sound, or a smell) that seems to be experienced through one of the senses but is not real, cannot be sensed by someone else, and is usually the result of mental illness or the effect of a drug

prescribe -v. to write or give medical orders, such as for drugs or other treatments

sedate -v to dose with sedatives, drugs that can make people sleep

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。

3 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sedate   

adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的

参考例句：

• After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后，医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
• We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。