Friendsactor Matthew Perry has died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” a powerful narcotic used on an experimental basis to treat depression and anxiety disorders. This is stated in the coroner’s report in Los Angeles, which was made public on Friday, American media report.
The drug, which is used for general anesthesia during surgeries but also as a recreational drug, combined with other factors to cause the 54-year-old actor to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s report .
The American-Canadian actor, who became world famous as Chandler Bing in the popular sitcom Friends, was found lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28. He was pronounced dead a short time later. According to the police, there were no indications of foul play.
Infusion therapy
Toxicology testing showed that ketamine, a fast-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, was present in Perry’s body at high levels, well within a range of amounts typically used for general anesthesia.
Acquaintances of Perry have told investigators that the actor was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. But his last treatment, a week and a half before his death, would not explain the high levels of ketamine in his body, according to the report.
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Other factors that contributed to Perry’s death include drowning, coronary artery disease and the painkiller buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder. No traces of other substances such as alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin or fentanyl were found.
Perry has been open about his years-long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. According to acquaintances of the actor, he has been doing better recently.
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