A mind-altering medication related to the recreational drug ketamine won U.S. approval Tuesday for patients with hard-to-treat depression, the first in a series of long-overlooked substances being reconsidered for severe forms of mental illness.
Matthew Perrone, The Associated PressWASHINGTON -- A mind-altering medication related to the club drug Special K won U.S. approval Tuesday for patients with hard-to-treat depression, the first in a series of long-overlooked substances being reconsidered for severe forms of mental illness.
There have been no major pharmaceutical innovations for depression since the launch of Prozac and related antidepressants in the late 1980s. Those drugs target the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, and can take weeks or months to kick in. The drug is designed to be lower-dose and easier to use than ketamine, which is normally given as an intravenous infusion.
"You can feel it coming on, it's a strong drug," she said, describing colours and shapes that drift before her eyes. "I just let the drug work. I close my eyes and my mind is amazingly quiet."The ketamine-like drug is the first of several psychoactive substances making their way through the U.S. regulatory process as physicians search further afield for new therapies.
J&J's drug will be subject to a number of restrictions due to its abuse potential, side effects and lingering safety questions.
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