(Es)ketamine in functional neurological disorder: a systematic review - Takeaways - MDSpire

Esketamine's Role in Treating Functional Neurological Disorder: A Comprehensive Review

  • By

  • Bruce Tamilson

  • Michael Chitolie

  • Jan Coebergh

  • Niruj Agrawal

  • Norman Poole

  • Matt Butler

  • Richard Kanaan

  • Timothy Nicholson

  • July 20, 2026

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  • 1

    Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a disabling condition with variable treatment outcomes, particularly in chronic and comorbid cases.

  • 2

    A systematic review identified 13 studies on (Es)ketamine use in FND, mainly consisting of case reports and small series.

  • 3

    Some patients reported improvement in functional symptoms after (Es)ketamine administration, but evidence is largely uncontrolled and heterogeneous.

  • 4

    Adverse effects of (Es)ketamine were variably reported, generally described as transient in supervised clinical settings.

  • 5

    The review concludes that further investigation and prospective controlled trials are needed to clarify (Es)ketamine's role in FND.

Original Source(s)

(Es)ketamine in functional neurological disorder: a systematic review

  • by Bruce Tamilson, Michael Chitolie, Jan Coebergh, Niruj Agrawal, Norman Poole, Matt Butler, Richard Kanaan, Timothy Nicholson

  • July 20, 2026

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