Ketamine trial at UNSW reports success in treating depression with injections

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Ketamine trial at UNSW reports success in treating depression with injections

13 June 2014

The street drug known as Special K is being labelled a game changer in the treatment of depression, with patients reporting major improvements after just one day of treatment.

In a trial of 19 patients carried out by the University of New South Wales, it has been found ketamine can help sufferers of depression who have failed to respond to other treatments.

Lead researcher Professor Colleen Loo says results so far show the drug's effectiveness at treating depression are almost instantaneous.

"It's been used for decades as a general anaesthetic to put people to sleep for operations. More recently, it's also been used in pain management and also just for light sedation," Professor Loo said.

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