Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Millions of people around the world suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, and many of these people are given drugs to help treat this potentially devastating disease. For many, the first treatment is successful, and if not, certainly the second treatment gives them the relief they so desperately need. Others, however, are not so lucky, people with treatment resistant depression undergo numerous treatments, some of which are more aggressive than others, but still nothing helps alleviate their depression. Recently an older anesthetic, the drug Ketamine, has been making some news as a new depression treatment. This paper will compare Ketamine to the traditional approved methods for treating depression, as well as discuss the next steps in making this drug more widely available. By reviewing scholarship on the subject of antidepressants, as well as available research on Ketamine, and by interviewing a patient who recently underwent a Ketamine treatment, this research highlights the positive results of Ketamine while acknowledging the setbacks that still currently exist, and advocates for the use of Ketamine as a treatment for depression.
Author: Matthew D Gayhart
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W752371021