Ketamine could soon be approved to treat depression
Psychiatrists looking for a new treatment to give patients with major depression and suicidal tendencies may soon be able to administer ketamine inside of their offices.
If ketamine is approved by the Federal Drug Administration as a breakthrough therapy, it will be the first new treatment for a major depressive disorder in about 50 years, CNN reports. On Tuesday, Janssen Pharmaceutical announced it is working on two clinical trials with ketamine — one for treatment-resistant depression and one for depression with suicidal thoughts, and will present the data to the FDA in 2018. Ketamine is also known as the street drug Special K, which gives users the feeling of being out of their body. It was used in the 1960s as an analgesic and sedative and is still on the World Health Organization's Essential Medicine List, but because of its hallucinogenic side effects, it's mostly used today as a veterinary anesthetic.
Depression causes damage to nerves and their transmission pathways, and research leads scientists to believe ketamine remodels those nerves, triggering neuroplastic processes that make new connections among brain cells, Dr. Dan Iosifescu of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City told CNN. "What's unique about ketamine is, this happens in hours or days, while with other depression medications, this happens in weeks to months," he said. Doctors have some concern that using ketamine for depression could reverse a person's tolerance to opioids or lead to substance abuse, and Janssen said its formulation would only be administered by a doctor in their office.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Political cartoons for October 28Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include a bailout for Argentina, a frog prince, and Epstein distractions
-
The best adventure holidays for adrenaline junkiesThe Week Recommends Five destinations perfect for outdoor thrill-seekers
-
Codeword: October 28, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rivalSpeed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resignSpeed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
