Animal Anesthetic, Street Drug May Help Depression, Study Says 2006-08-07 16:43 (New York) By Joi Preciphs Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A drug used legally to tranquilize animals and illegally as a street hallucinogen called ``Special K'' may give relief within hours to people whose depression resists other treatments, a new study says. About 70 percent of patients who got the drug, an animal anesthetic called ketamine, had improved symptoms within a day and 29 percent were symptom-free, according to a study to be published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry. One in three said the effects lasted at least a week. ``The public health implications of being able to treat major depression this quickly would be enormous,'' said Elias A. Zerhouni, head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, in a statement today. Major depression affects more than 14 million Americans yearly, according to the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, which carried out the study. Patients who are in the early stages of therapy for depression and those with drug-resistant forms of the disorder are at high risk for suicide or bodily harm. In the study, researchers gave small doses of the fast acting tranquilizer to an 18-patient study group that was randomly assigned to receive either a dose of ketamine or an inactive compound a week apart on two test days. Patients experienced no ``serious adverse effects'' from ketamine, the researchers said. ``Perceptual disturbances,'' euphoria, dizziness and increased sex drive were the most common side effects, the study said. Most side effects stopped within 80 minutes after treatment, and none lasted beyond 110 minutes. Delirium When abused, ketamine is known to cause delirium, numbness, loss of coordination, memory loss, depression and cognitive problems, according to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information Web sites. As little as 25 to 100 milligrams can cause psychedelic effects and larger doses can cause vomiting and life threatening convulsions. Researchers in the depression study limited the doses used for patients to 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. For example, a 150-pound (68 kilogram) woman would have received about 34 milligrams of the drug. Carlos Zarate, chief of the national institute's Mood Disorders Unit, said the research team is exploring ways to manipulate ketamine to lessen or completely eliminate the drug's dangerous side-effects. ``The exciting thing is we now have evidence we can bring about rapid antidepressant effects,'' Zarate said today in a telephone interview, ``Now that we can do that very quickly, how to do it consistently is a different story.'' Special K Known on the street as Special K, Kat or Vitamin K, recreational users take Ketamine for ``out-of-body'' experiences similar to those caused by LSD and PCP use, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which added ketamine to its list of controlled substances seven years ago. At the time, law-enforcement officials across the country were reporting increased abuse of the drug at large-scale parties frequented by teens and young adults, and in ``date rape'' crimes, said Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the agency, in a telephone interview today. More than 70 legitimate makers of the drug are registered with the DEA, he said. Past research in animals showed that ketamine blocks N- methyl-D-aspartic acid, a protein that regulates glutamate, a neurological chemical that affects electrical charges in the brain. Dr. Zarate said past research paved the way for testing anti-glutamatergic drugs that address neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases. Typical Patient A typical patient with major depression reports at least five or more symptoms for at least two weeks before a diagnosis is made. Episodes usually are treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. Modern depression drugs called SSRIs, which include Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and Effexor, and older classes of medicines called tricyclic antidepressants, usually take weeks before patients' symptoms improve. Sometimes, though, patients become unaffected by the drugs over time. --Editor: Gale. Story illustration: For more medical-science news, see {TNI MEDICAL SCIENCE <GO>}. For today's top health stories, see {HTOP <GO>.} To contact the reporter on this story: Joi Preciphs in Washington at (1) (202) 624-1989 or jpreciphs1@bloomberg.net.
Well thats nice. Frankly if you are depressed I can guarantee to cure it by just coming over and beat the crap out of you with a length of common garden hose. Nothing cures depression like a little shot of adrenaline. I can reliably produce an adrenaline response using only a short length of garden hose with a knot tied in it. Couple of "treatments* " and "bada boom bada bing" you're cured. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnote "*Apparently after a couple of 'treatments", I can produce a significant adrenaline response by simply calling you on the phone and "informing" you of my impending arrival. No need to actually travel to your location. Like all medications, there is some adaptive response and sooner or later the effects do wear off. IF however, you request the "deluxe" treatment I can "boost" the effect by appearing at your doorstep on random dates. Apparently seeing me at the door with my hose and a roll of duct tape (we don't want the screaming to disturb the neighbors) produces a booster effect that is good for about 6 months." Frankly I doubt that a person would ever again suffer depressive symptoms. In fact, seems to me I ought to get this treatment written up in the New England Journal of Medicine. Oh damn I forgot about that "do no harm" thing. Those wussies
I hate too say this steve, but you might be right. Unfortunately, you really are an arrogant pos, and i fail too see how your treatment would'nt work. You see, people who are severly depressed, insane, criminally insane, just a bit morbid-like nothing better than too check out reality, visa- vie, having some tool like yourself try it on. If you would care to look at some stats, you would find, that is very precisely the cause of most crime, period.
awesome, thks stevo - what about side effects? how does yr treatment compare? Special K: Patients experienced no ``serious adverse effects'' from ketamine, the researchers said. ``Perceptual disturbances,'' euphoria, dizziness and increased sex drive were the most common side effects, the study said.
You know what cheers me up when things get blue? "Rolled up aces over kings. Check raising stupid tourists and taking huge pots off 'em. Stacks and towers of checks I can't even see over. Playin' all night, high-limit Hold' Em at the Taj. Where the sand turns to gold." Or the market equivalent ... nothing like a letting a profit run to lift the spirits.
Is this a joke? The results are not news. It has been previously studied for therapeutic (including antidepressive) uses... And in this 9-patient study it caused rapid euphria... Great, that's perfect. Lets cause addiction and encourage abuse. Don't hold your breath for this "cure." Especially not as a result of this particular study.
Ketamine hydrochloride is a known hallucinogenic and currently a controlled (schedule III) substance. During the Vietnam war, certain Navy "operators" used it to sedate persons whom they wished to transport from place to place. Short term (single event) usage did not produce dependency. Delivery was by anaesthetic dart or intramuscular injection (thigh or neck). Because the Vietnamese were people of low body weight, a dose of 70 mg would generally make them go "night-night" almost immediately. Anyway Ketamine in certain dosages produces slight disorientation, as well as visual and aural hallucinations that can last periods of days to weeks in sensitive persons. An occasional "beating" on the other hand, if "properly" administered, will generally produce bruising lasting from 2-5 weeks, and a slight twitching of the head and neck when specific stimulus is applied "Hi, its me, time for your beating!" By the way, the Navy studies were informal in nature, statistical studies were conducted however the results were classified for years. Unsure of the current status. Steve
whats new is the statement comes from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and its on Bloomberg agree with u there are tons of tranquilized rhinos that are already familiar with the effects