Can Ketamine Be Used As An Antidepressant?

All antidepressants work in a similar way, though there are various types of antidepressants—often called “families”—that each work a bit differently. They all, however, increase the brain’s concentration of various neurotransmitters. Antidepressants are psychiatric medications given to patients with depressive disorders to alleviate symptoms. They correct chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain which probably cause changes in mood and behavior. Antidepressants may be used for a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including social anxiety disorder, anxiety disorders. Antidepressants were initially developed in the 1950s. Their use has become progressively more common over the last twenty years. Generally speaking, anti­psychotic

Results obtained in the recent years give some hope that ketamine which is a global NMDAR antagonist could be the fast and long- acting novel antidepressant. Antidepressant–like activity of ketamine was shown in many preclinical studies (1–7). The single non-anesthetic dose of ketamine reversed symptoms of major depression (MDD) in clinical conditions (8). These antidepressant effects of ketamine also occurred in patients who suffered from resistant depression or suicidal ideations (9–12). Despite a successful

Perry, P. J., Alexander, B., Liskow, B. I., & DeVane, C. L. (2007). Psychotropic drug handbook (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Thus far, I have learned about the pros and cons to using medication in treatment with clients. In addition, I have seen first hand the benefits of implementing medications in client’s treatment plan. From my understanding, Depression is one of the most prevalent illnesses in the world. Because of this fact it is important that we understand and explore all the implications surrounding the use and efficacy for treatment. In order to treat our clients with the best care possible, we as therapist should be educated on the types of medications for depression, the impact they have on the body, and their efficacy of improving symptoms and overall functioning. In this paper I will explore three articles about antidepressants and their efficacy for treating clients with depression. In addition, I will provide my overall reaction to the studies and the material provided for the efficacy of antidepressants for treating depression.

Jyllian Kemsley Ph.D. is a chemical research scientist, and scientific research contributor to the CENtral Science’s Safety Zone blog that seeks to “cover science and technology, business and industry, government and policy, education, and employment aspects of the chemistry field”. Her article entitled “Psychedelic Compounds like Ecstasy May Be Good for More than Just a High", reports on the revolutionary research theory within the field of medicine that seeks to examine the prospective benefits of using psychoactive compounds in treating a number of mental conditions. The piece is well written, and presents a number of background studies that have evaluated the efficiency of these

Medical research, conducted in Great Britain and the United States, has revealed that patients of all ages taking antidepressant drugs can become addicted to the pills. They are also put at an extreme risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior (“Antidepressant Drugs”

Lastly, what effects to antidepressants have on mood, behavior, and suicidal tendencies? In her article, ‘The Hidden Harm of Antidepressants’, Diana Kwon, a science writer with a Master’s degree for McGill University in neuroscience, she reviews several studies about the use of antidepressants, and had found the safety data on some of these drugs have been withheld from the public. She mentions research done in Copenhagen by some researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Center, and how they discovered that “pharmaceutical companies were not presenting the full extent of serious harm in clinical study reports…” (Kwon para 2). These clinical study reports are then used by people at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve or deny new

While medication may be taken worldwide and is much more commonly used for depression, it isn’t always the best solution. Causing potential problems such as nausea, headaches, insomnia and even increased suicide rate. In comparison, therapy allows connection, interaction, someone to trust, and overall monitoring of the patient's progress. Which option is more beneficial to the patients? Medication or therapy? The research done will help determine that option. This option will be very beneficial to a growing community around the world. This research project aims to explore the risk of overdosing when treating depression with antidepressants. Taking medication while being diagnosed with depression although may be helpful, it can be dangerous and life threatening.

In 2005 the Center of Disease Control and Prevention 's (CDC’s) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) tracked Americans using antidepressants for three years. The study concluded in 2008 that more than 1 in 10 Americans ages 12 and older have used an antidepressant drug. This study comes in the wake of a heated debate in the media about the effectiveness of antidepressants treating depression. Last year, antidepressants were the second most commonly prescribed medication, right behind drugs directed to lower cholesterol. With so many people in the United States relying on these drugs, it is easy to question if they are just expensive, overused placebos.

The common denominator in the treatment of all of these conditions is antidepressant medications. The first classification of drugs that doctors usually use are SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The way they work is not completely known, but it is thought that they limit the reabsorption of serotonin into the presynaptic cell which increases the extracellular level of the serotonin. They are used for symptoms of moderate to severe depression, but are shown to be more effective in more severe cases. They are also known to have fewer side effects than other classifications of antidepressants. The list includes fatigue, dry mouth,

Many individuals may assume that it has a better safety profile due to the agent not being a controlled substance, and efficacy still remains questioned (Mohammadi & Akhondzadeh, 2007). In the present paper, the similarities and differences between methylphenidate and atomoxetine will be investigated in regards to efficacy and safety. The following literature that is examined supports methylphenidate’s efficacy over the use of atomoxetine. Furthermore, it also supports there are non-significant differences in terms of the safety profiles when the medications are compared.

The pertinent findings will be explained, and their implications on future anti-depressants will be addressed.

This is an accurate representation of medication for depression. It does not make you want to live, it does not fix your thinking, it just makes you functional. It allows you to do things you wouldn’t usually be able to, and maybe after a while you will be able to function on your own.

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

As the literature remains inconclusive as to the relation between current major treatment modalities and depressive disorder, and given the extremities of the potential dangers of antidepressant medications, it is apparent that there is a need to develop new interventions, which show greater efficacy, safety, and acceptability.