Ketamine eases depression

Scientists have unraveled how a horse tranquilizer and hallucinogenic night club drug known as "Special K" can ease depression, researchers said on Friday.  —  LONDON, May. 2, 2008 (Reuters)

 

Ketamine, which can also cause feelings of detachment, could pave the way for new treatments for people suffering from depression, the researchers added.

 

Their study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found ketamine restores to normal the orbifrontal cortex, an area of the brain located above the eyes that is overactive in depressed people.

 

The area is believed to be responsible for feelings of guilt, dread, apprehension and physical reactions such as a racing heart, said Bill Deakin, who led the study.   (another popular drug, a dissasociate made by both pharmaceutical companies and in illicit drug labs, that has now been found to have off-label medical use... /Blair)

 

Night club drug could ease depression: scientists