Injection May Treat Depression Much Faster — Washington Post

Science has verified what club goers have long known — Special K is a great upper. In a very preliminary study of 18 people, researchers discovered that the club drug, Special K — ketamine — may treat depression in a matter of hours rather than the typical 6 to 8 weeks that ordinary antidepressants take. The only significant side effect was a temporary feeling of dissociation.

Some researchers speculate that this drug may be used to help more immediately relieve the symptoms of depression, while typical antidepressants are kicking in. More in-depth, larger-scale studies need to be conducted to ensure the effects are robust and the drug is safe in the low dose used.

The findings appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry, A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression (63, 8 ).

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by John M. Grohol, PsyD (or subscribe to their feed).

Comments

This post currently has one comment. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 8 Aug 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.