Controversial new drug for depression
Ketamine — an anesthetic during the Vietnam War and a party drug during the ’80s — is now a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for depression, the agency announced last week.
The nasal-spray form of the mindaltering drug will be available to patients as early as this week in select Drug Enforcement Agency-approved clinics. Some research shows that the drug, which produces an out-of-body, sedated feeling, can lessen the severity of depression when coupled with other antidepressant medication.
Dr. Steven Levine, a New Jerseybased psychiatrist, has been administering ketamine via IV at his clinics, Actify Neurotherapies, since 2011. The number of patients who have requested the new nasal spray is “already in the triple digits,” he tells The Post.
But the new spray, called Esketamine, isn’t a fit for everyone. Psychiatrists can only prescribe this treatment to patients who have already unsuccessfully tried two other antidepressants. If a patient has a history of substance abuse, Levine says he and other doctors would want to ensure they’ve had a period of sobriety first.
It’s also less convenient than your standard antidepressant: Esketamine can only be taken under doctor supervision, and the patient must stay in the doctor’s office for two hours. Levine says this will help prevent the drug from being abused.
Then, there’s the potential cost: Since it’s not yet widely covered by insurance, the nasal spray can run up to $900 out of pocket per session.
While the approval has come as a sign of hope to people who suffer from depression, questions still remain regarding side effects.
“It is a very new treatment,” says Dr. Muaid Ithman, of University of Missouri Health Care. “We need to be careful.”