When it comes to coping with severe depression, many patients are prescribed standard antidepressants like Prozac or Wellbutrin. But for those who are among the roughly 30 percent of depressed patients who don't respond to standard antidepressants, the situation is far more dire.
An in-depth report from Bloomberg details how the club drug ketamine — known on the street as Special K — could be useful in alleviating severe depression in patients who have had little success with more traditional drugs. Though ketamine hasn't been approved by the FDA, Bloomberg discusses multiple studies and real-life anecdotes that seem to indicate that ketamine "works by producing long-lasting changes in the brain, reversing neural damage caused by stress and depression, and potentially decreasing inflammation and cortisol levels." Furthermore, while traditional medication can take weeks or even months to take effect, many patients who receive ketamine infusions feel some relief in mere hours.
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