Did you know depression affects one in ten people during some part of their lives? That's incredible, but not unexpected. So many things can go wrong which affect our disposition or sense of well-being.
The horse tranquillizer, ketamine, could be used to treat depression following the first clinical trial in the United Kingdom. It is already employed in medicine for the treatment of back pain and as an anaesthetic.
The party drug ketamine is also known as Ket, Special K, K and Vitamin K. (I guess the popular breakfast cereal which claims to help to keep weight down isn't the Special K they refer to.)
The Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust gave 28 patients doses of ketamine over 40 minutes on up to six occasions. This included patients who had lived with depression for 20 years.
Eight of them showed dramatic improvements in their level of depression, sometimes within six hours of their first dose. Four of them improved so much they were no longer classed as depressed. That's fantastic. I guess we all know someone who suffers from serious depression. I wouldn't wish the condition on the most hardened criminal in the world.
I don't like to remember, but I was diagnosed with clinical depression in mid-life. I'd been through a traumatic time. Although I'm a natural optimist, mental anguish affected me until I took action and changed my circumstances.
After results from the UK patient tests, doctors are now looking into potentially creating a drug similar to ketamine without any of the known side-effects which include serious bladder problems, limited supply of blood to the brain, liver damage and even death when mixed with alcohol and other drugs.
Although I don't approve of drugs used for recreation, I acknowledge their proper application. Modern medicine is one of the best benefits of our society. I, for one, wouldn't be alive without help from doctors, chemists and the associated continual experiments to assist the health of all.