Ketamine may rapidly treat depression, scientists say

[JRLeft]

Ketamine is not only an animal tranquilizer or club drug known as Special K, but new research explains it may be an effective way to treat depression instantly. Yale University scientists reviewed existing evidence on the drug's role in treating depressed patients who did not respond to other medications, and think they've figured out how the drug helps depression. Club drug ketamine cures depression instantly: How?

"The rapid therapeutic response of ketamine in treatment-resistant patients is the biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century," study author Dr. Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry, neurobiology and pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine, said in a press release. Ketamine when used in high doses as a club drug has a dissociative effect, meaning it produces feelings of detachment in users in addition to distorting perceptions of sight and sound. It can cause dreamlike states, hallucinations, delirium and amnesia, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The dissociative state drug users experience is sometimes referred to as a "K-hole."

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This mechanism differs from that of antidepressant medications, which affect different neurotransmitters -- chemical messengers between neurons -- like serotonin. According to the Mayo Clinic, commonly prescribed antibiotics like Prozac and Zoloft block the brain's reabsorption of serotonin and help brain cells send and receive chemical messages, which in turn boosts mood.

But about one in three people taking antidepressants don't show improved symptoms despite taking them for months, according to the researchers.

"It's exciting," Duman told NPR. "The hope is that this new information about ketamine is really going to provide a whole array of new targets that can be developed that ultimately provide a much better way of treating depression."

Read more at the link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57527115/ketamine-may-rapidly-treat-depression-scientists-say/

[DevonRex]

1. That's really, really interesting.

I'm all for anything that can help. Thank you for the link.