Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. In 2017, an estimated 17.3 million adults in the country had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 7.1% of all U.S. adults. These people have had few treatment options, until now.
In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug called esketamine (Spravato). It is...
a fast-acting nasal spray derived from ketamine that is the first genuine advance in treating depression in more than 30 years.
First synthesized in the 1960s and still used globally as an anesthetic on battlefields and in surgery, ketamine became popular as an illicit club drug known as Special K in the 1980s and ’90s because it triggered trippy dissociative side effects. But nearly two decades ago, researchers noticed it banished depression even in people who are suicidal or resistant to treatment. Another plus: Their response was swift and profound.
Find out more about this drug over at Discover.
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