‘Wonder drug’ could lift depression in hours

A single dose of the drug can promptly lift people out of depression with results lasting for over a week, findings suggest.

The drug can also effectively restore brain-connections impaired by chronic stress, researchers say.

"It's like a magic drug -- one dose can work rapidly and last for seven to 10 days," study’s lead author, Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale University, said.

Ketamine history
Developed by Parke-Davis (today a part of Pfizer) in the early 1960s, Ketamine was used as an anesthetic in humans and veterinary medicine.

Because of its anti-depressant properties, the drug gained a reputation of a "party drug" (known as "Special K") in the 1990s.

It also came across as a potent and rapid treatment for people with suicidal thoughts.

Ketamine’s anti-depressant properties
Unlike most anti-depressants available in the market which usually take weeks to take full effect, ketamine begins to counter depression in hours.

Also, where nearly 40 percent of depression patients do not respond to medication, and many others respond only after months or years of drug therapy, ketamine comes across as an effective drug, researchers say.

Findings of a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health show that almost 70 percent of patients resistant to traditional drugs for depression improve within hours after receiving ketamine.

But the intravenous administration has limited the clinical use of ketamine till date. The drug can also cause short-term psychotic symptoms in some cases.

Duman now plans to conduct further analysis and modify the drug before it could be approved for general use. "That would be the ultimate goal, to develop the drug as a pill," he said.

Critics argue
Voicing concerns over the study's findings, Glenn Garnham, a drug and alcohol counselor for UK charity Admit said, “Ketamine is a very addictive drug which is normally used on horses. I deal with many people who are addicted to ketamine and it affects their life in the same way as any other addiction does, leading to serious problems with health, money, friends and family.”

“It is already very cheap and easy to become addicted to – approving it for medical use might remove some of its stigma and lead more people down the path of addiction,” Garnham fears.

The findings feature in the current issue of the journal 'Science.'