Scientists at Yale University have figured out exactly how ketamine, an antidepressant, works, and how exactly it is able to bring relief in hours rather than weeks or months with other antidepressants. This is a breakthrough in depression treatment.
This news may hasten the development of a safe and convenient form of ketamine that will be able to treat depression. The researchers found that, in rats, ketamine quickly decreases depression and its behaviors. The drug reestablishes connections between brain cells damaged by constant stress. The effects of ketamine have proven incredibly effective on severely depressed human patients.
"It’s like a magic drug – one dose can work rapidly and last for seven to ten days," said Ronald Duman, senior author of the study and a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale University.
Ketamine was traditionally used as a general anesthetic for children. About ten years ago, ketamine was discovered by researchers at the Connecticut Mental Health Center to bring relief to depressed patients when administered in small amounts. The clinical studies proved that almost 70 percent of patients improved their depression symptoms within hours of receiving the drug. Its clinical use, however, has been limited up until now because it must be delivered intravenously under medical supervision. The drug has been used as a recreational drug, often called Special K or K.
Approximately 40 percent of people suffering from depression do not respond to treatment with medication. There are many more people who only respond after many months or years of trying different treatment modalities. Ketamine has been tested and proven as a successful means of rapidly diminishing suicidal thoughts. This is an important advantage that is typically not seen before weeks of treatment with traditional antidepressants.
