Antonio Manuel Melo Soares Almeida

Antonio Manuel Melo Soares Almeida

Universidade do Minho, Portugal



Biography

António Melo is a Medical Doctor and Researcher who has been graduated in medicine in 2004 at Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar – Universidade do Porto, performed the Anesthesiology training in Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia e Espinho, Portugal; and since 2015, he is an Anesthesiology Assistant at Hospital da Luz Arrábida, Portugal. In 2009, he did an advanced study diploma in Neurosciences at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto and in 2018; he finished the PhD in Neurosciences at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto. He is Researcher in the Health and Life Sciences Institute, Universidade do Minho since 2009 and Assistant Lecturer of Anatomy and Pathophysiology in the School of Health Sciences, University of Minho since 2014.
 

Abstract

Ketamine is a versatile drug used mainly as analgesic and general anaesthetic, but lately has enjoyed a recent renaissance as a potential treatment for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Ketamine has shown promise as an antidepressant that acts within minutes to hours, rather than weeks or months. Other studies have shown that ketamine might help in other psychiatric diseases, such as bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorders. On the other side, the potential for misuse, including addiction, make ketamine a very controversial drug. Through this session we will look at the evidence of ketamine in the treatment of depression disorders and the potential role as a modulator in impulsive disorders.