Scientists speed antidepressant action
July 26, 2007
U.S. scientists have moved closer to producing faster acting antidepressants than exist today by using the experimental medication ketamine.
The research, conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, focused on how ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work.
While ketamine itself probably won’t be used as an antidepressant because of its side effects, researchers said the new finding moves scientists considerably closer to understanding how to develop faster-acting antidepressant medications.
“In any other illness of depression’s magnitude, patients aren’t expected to just accept that their treatments won’t start helping them for weeks or months,” said Dr. Thomas Insel, NIMH director. “The value of our research on compounds like ketamine is that it tells us where to look for more precise targets for new kinds of medications that can close the gap.”
The study is reported online in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
Posted by toshko under Anit Depressant News |