Biggest discovery in half a century': Ketamine can be used to treat depression

Researchers are calling the use of ketamine to treat depression as "the biggest discovery in half a century." Although ketamine is popularly known primarily as a used party drug, researchers have now noted that it can be used to treat depression quickly.

Imagine that you leave the emergency room with a very bad pain in the lung, a pain so strong you can barely think.And the doctor says' here is a remedy that we have been using for 30 years, it works on 50- 60% of cases and should begin to take effect in 4-6 weeks. "That's the best we can do," said Cristina Cusin, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Harvard University.

Cusin's observation refers to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a class of antidepressant drugs typically used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. SSRIs take several weeks to become effective.

Cusin reviewed his research on ketamine, about 40 studies on the substance involving brain imaging, and publishing his findings in this month's Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The results of their study revealed that those depressed patients who are given ketamine in carefully controlled clinical settings experience positive changes in the brain, particularly in areas that regulate emotion.

In December 2017, researchers working with depressed and suicidal patients at Columbia University noted that the clinical use of ketamine reduced suicidal thoughts much more than a regularly used sedative. In fact, the moods of most patients improved within 24 hours after being prescribed ketamine in controlled situations. necessary, suggests that the drug "absolutely has potential".