FDA approves ketamine-like drug to treat severe depression

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Spravato, a nasal spray that is a close chemical relation to ketamine, for use by patients with severe depression that is hard to treat.

Ketamine is used as an anesthetic, as well as a recreational party drug — sometimes called "special K" — due to its ability to cause hallucinations. Spravato targets glutamate, which is believed to restore brain connections that help ease depression, The Associated Press reports. In a trial, patients who said the drug worked for them felt its effects almost immediately.

The FDA said Spravato will be used with an oral antidepressant, and because of the potential for abuse, patients must be under the supervision of a specialist who will monitor them for at least two hours after the spray is administered. This is the first new type of drug to treat depression to be approved since the launch of Prozac in 1988.

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