{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T16:11:59Z","timestamp":1790784719765,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784505600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Substance use disorders (SUD) involving ketamine, cocaine, and alcohol present significant clinical challenges, often characterized by high relapse rates and limited pharmacological options. This case report details a 30-year-old male with a five-year history of severe polysubstance dependence, including daily intranasal ketamine use (2\u20133 g\/day), cocaine, and alcohol, comorbid with recurrent depressive disorder. Despite conventional psychiatric treatment, the patient experienced severe cravings and sought ibogaine-assisted treatment. The patient underwent a structured 13-day residential program in Mexico, receiving an 800 mg ibogaine HCl flood dose (10.1 mg\/kg), followed by two supplementary booster doses of 300 mg (3.8 mg\/kg) under continuous medical and ECG monitoring. Following treatment, the patient reported an immediate cessation of cravings for all substances. Over approximately 17 months of follow-up including a medically supervised fractionated ibogaine intervention approximately 11 months after the initial treatment, serial toxicology and psychometric assessments were consistent with continued abstinence from ketamine, cocaine, alcohol and other previously misused substances, and significant improvements in depression (PHQ-9: 0\u20133), anxiety, and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF: 55 to 71). This report represents the first longitudinally documented case of sustained abstinence in severe ketamine use disorder following ibogaine treatment, supported by serial toxicology and standardized psychometric outcomes. It adds objective, time-resolved evidence to a literature that has largely focused on ibogaine for opioid use disorder, and it highlights ketamine use disorder as a specific target for future controlled trials. The therapeutic outcome is hypothesized to arise from ibogaine\u2019s unique polypharmacology. This includes acute NMDA antagonism, which may disrupt compulsive circuits, as well as noribogaine\u2019s (the principal long-acting metabolite of ibogaine, with an elimination half-life of approximately 28\u201349 hours) kappa opioid receptor agonism and serotonin transporter inhibition, which stabilize reward pathways. Additionally, enhanced neuroplasticity via GDNF\/BDNF expression may facilitate long-term behavioral changes. This case provides rare, rigorously documented evidence for ibogaine\u2019s potential in treating chronic ketamine dependence and highlights the urgent need for controlled clinical trials within regulated frameworks to further investigate its safety and efficacy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1846320","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T08:36:11Z","timestamp":1784536571000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sustained abstinence in severe ketamine use disorder following ibogaine treatment case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Sergio R.","family":"P\u00e9rez Rosal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane","place":["Neuruppin, Germany"]},{"name":"Psychedelia-Stiftung","place":["Berlin, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonya C.","family":"Faber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, University of Ottawa","place":["Ottawa, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Markus","family":"Backmund","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"P3 Akutklinik f\u00fcr Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik","place":["Tutzing, Germany"]},{"name":"Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit\u00e4t (LMU) Munich","place":["Munich, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1360-0443.2011.03576.x","article-title":"Ketamine use: A review","volume":"107","author":"Morgan","year":"2012","journal-title":"Addiction"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00213-010-2121-3","article-title":"Chronic ketamine use increases serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor","volume":"215","author":"Ricci","year":"2011","journal-title":"Psychopharmacology"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/02791072.2025.2449909","article-title":"Psychotic-like experiences in young recreational users of ketamine: A case study","author":"Ricci","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Psychoact Drugs"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pnpbp.2025.111533","article-title":"Changing your mind: Neuroplastic mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of psychedelics in depression, PTSD, and addiction","volume":"142","author":"Palhas","year":"2025","journal-title":"Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/1570159X21666221017085612","article-title":"Ibogaine\/noribogaine in the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic review of the current literature","volume":"21","author":"Mosca","year":"2023","journal-title":"Curr Neuropharmacol"},{"key":"B6","volume-title":"Rapid method for interrupting the narcotic addiction syndrome","author":"Lotsof","year":"1985"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/jcph.404","article-title":"Ascending-dose study of noribogaine in healthy volunteers: Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability","volume":"55","author":"Glue","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Clin Pharmacol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17425255.2021.1944099","article-title":"Evaluating the toxicity and therapeutic potential of ibogaine in the treatment of chronic opioid abuse","volume":"17","author":"Luz","year":"2021","journal-title":"Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0960327107087802","article-title":"Ibogaine, an anti-addictive drug: Pharmacology and time to go further in development. 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