Fast-acting depression drug

Nearly one-fifth of people suffering from depression get little, if any, relief from prescription drugs. But researchers have discovered that treatment-resistant depression can sometimes be lifted in a matter of hours with ketamine, an intravenous anaesthesia drug.

“This could be a bigger game changer than Prozac,” says Dr Anthony Rothschild, a psychiatrist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who is studying a nasal-spray version of the drug. Ketamine could be the first drug in 50 years found to affect various neurological pathways to alleviate depression – and it may radically change scientific understanding of how depression works.

Ketamine does have downsides.

The powerful effects last only seven to 10 days, and it’s unclear whether repeated infusions will be safe. There are side effects: the medication can also elevate blood pressure and sometimes trigger hallucinations. Researchers are studying similar drugs that may not have such dire side effects, and some hope a new medicine will be available in the next few years. “It looks more promising every month,” Rothschild says.