Janssen has submitted a filing for approval of Esketamine with the United States Food and Drug Administration for treating depression. About 30-40% of people do not respond to current depression treatments, which results in major depression disorder leading the cause of disability all over the world. The recent filing needs to prove the drug is safe and will be beneficial for the intended recipients. What is Ketamine? Before taking a look at how ketamine works, let’s talk about what it is. Classified as a dissociative anesthetic, along with PCP and nitrous oxide, ketamine is a class III scheduled drug only approved for hospital and medical setting use. At high doses, the drug is used for anesthesia purposes, while at lower doses it produces hypnotic effects, altered perception, and pain re...
A ketamine nasal spray has shown promise in rapidly treating the symptoms of major depression and suicidal thoughts. The recent study published online in The American Journal of Psychiatry a double-blind trial compared the standard treatment in addition to a placebo for rapid depression treatment and suicidal thoughts. Read on to find out further information about the study and the findings researchers uncovered. The Study The study involved 68 participants, and each were randomly assigned to two groups, one group received ketamine or a placebo twice a week for one month. All of the participants continued to receive treatment with antidepressants throughout the trial. The researchers looked at the effects at four hours after first treatment and again at 24 hours and 25 days later. The Resu...