Generic drugs online

Source: The Money Times

Date: 20-Aug-2010

Author: Neka Sehgal

Ketamine, a common anesthetic agent and a popular recreational drug, has the potential of generating anti-depressant effects in a matter of a few hours, claims a new study.

According to researchers, unlike standard drugs that take several months to make a notable dent in depressive symptoms, Ketamine, popularly known by its street name "Special K," was able to evoke a response even in the hardest-to-treat cases.

Senior author of the study, Ronald Duman, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Yale stated, "It's like a magic drug - one dose can work rapidly and last for seven to 10 days. If someone is extremely ill, and in many cases may be even suicidal, having a drug that works rapidly like this is just a tremendous resource to have."

The clinical use of ketamine is limited because it is not a practical therapy. The drug is risky, has to be administered intravenously, and can cause hallucinations, delirium, and short-term psychotic symptoms

Experiment on rodents

Researchers exploring the potential of ketamine as an antidepressant found that the drug improves depressive behavior in rats by restoring connections between brain cells damaged by chronic stress.

According to experts, at the right doses, the compound activates a process in the brain, called the mammalian target of rapamycin, or mTOR, which is responsible for creating proteins required to form new connections between brain cells.

"The pathway is the story. Understanding the mechanism underlying the antidepressant effect of ketamine will allow us to attack the problem at a variety of possible sites within that pathway," stated Dr. George Aghajanian, one of the study's researchers.

Need for katamine-like drug

The clinical use of ketamine is limited because it is not a practical therapy. The drug is risky, has to be administered intravenously, and can cause hallucinations, delirium, and short-term psychotic symptoms.

The study could pave the way for new treatment options. According to experts, rats and humans have similar biochemical pathways.

The experiment on rodents will offer some insights into how the human brain would respond to the drug.

The goal of the researchers is to develop ketamine-like drugs that are safe, have the same anti-depressant effect on the brain, and are easy to administer.

Some reservations

Voicing concerns over the study's findings, Glenn Garnham, a drug and alcohol counselor for UK charity Admit stated, "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."