Ketamine, an anesthetic used in both human and veterinary medicine, have been demonstrated to relieve major depression in research subjects in less than an hour. The effects of a single small intravenous dose were also long-lasting, with improved mood lasting an average three days, some benefits remaining for about a week, and full depression not returning for about two weeks.

Ketamine’s rapid antidepressant response has been studied in two disorders – major depression and bi-polar disorder.  In the most recent study, published in 2010, researchers at Maryland’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) administered low doses of ketamine to 18 patients with treatment-resistant bi-polar disorder. more than half of the patients experienced a reduction in their symptoms within 40 minutes, with 13 percent reporting a near 100 percent improvement. side effects were mild and brief, and included feeling “strange”, a dry mouth, and a rise in blood pressure and heart rate.

A small study of depression sufferers out of Yale University ten years earlier also produced dramatic results. All seven subjects, who had failed to respond to conventional treatments including antidepressant medications, responded well to ketamine, with some of them reporting a profound improvement. Medical reports from the 1950s and 60s noted that tuberculosis patients treated with ketamine experienced rapid relief of their depression symptoms.

Ketamine has been around for 50 years, most recently as the trendy but illegal club drug “Special K”, popular for inducing a dreamlike state. Ketamine affects the brain’s glutamatergic system, which plays a role in memory and information processing.  Ketamine is known to block a class of brain receptors called NMDA receptors from receiving the brain chemical glutamate. NMDA receptors move nerve signals between neurons. Research indicates that the signaling of gluatamate between neurons in this system plays a role in depression. Ketamine also improves the response of another receptor that helps regulate the electrical flow of brain cells.

Ketamine is creating a stir in the medical community, creating hope that the study results will lead to the development of a new class of faster and longer-acting antidepression medication. “These new findings demonstrate the importance of developing new classes of antidepressants that are not simply variations of existing medications,” says Dr Elias A. Zerhouni, Director of the National Institute of Health. Research on rapid antidepressant drugs is now “an area of focus within the industry”, according to Lee Schechter, the director of preclinical depression and anxiety research at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability for Americans aged 15 to 44, and is nearly twice as common in women as in men.  Bi-polar disorder usually appears in early adulthood, affecting about 5.7 million Americans. Traditional treatments for depression include therapy, electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressant medication. Bi-polar disorder is usually treated with therapy and lithium or anti-convulsant medication.

Currently, the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Lexapro and Zoloft, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as Effexor and Paxil, and the norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) Wellbutrin. while they help about 80 percent of depression sufferers, antidepressant drugs may take two to six weeks to become effective, and are not without side effects. Common antidepressant side effects are upset stomach, weight gain, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia and sexual dysfunction. side effects tend to be fewer with Wellbutrin, and don’t include weight gain or sexual problems. Wellbutrin is sold as Wellbutrin sustained release (SR) and Wellbutrin extended release (XR), and is also prescribed for seasonal effective disorder and as an aid to quit smoking. It is frequently prescribed along with an SSRI for added effect.

Lynn Woods is an author with an interest in health and wellness who researches and writes about medications. she feels strongly that everyone should have access to affordable antidepressant medicine, and wants all Americans to know that drugs from Canada are much cheaper than in the US. she recommends Big Mountain Drugs as a reliable Canadian online pharmacy from which to buy Wellbutrin XL online. Affordable generic Wellbutrin is also available.