Approximately 280 million people in the world suffer for depression. Despite this, the disorder remains poorly explained and is often difficult to treat. Ketamine could offer an innovative approach.
Alleviating major depression for the long term involves more than just drugs.
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Drugs like ketamine can relieve depression symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, within hours, but they also carry risks that patients need to understand.
Medical treatments involving neurostimulation, or cerebral electromagnetic stimulation, are resurfacing and appear to be more effective than drugs for treating depression.
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A new paper published today has reported a small increase in the number of children born with autism from mothers who were using antidepressant medication while pregnant.
The increasing placebo response rate in depression is likely driven by an increasing expectation that treatment will work.
St John’s Wort has been proven to be as effective as medicinal anti-depressants in treating mild to moderate depression.
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The flowering tops and aerial parts of the St John’s Wort plant are used medicinally in the form of tinctures and tablets to treat a number of conditions affecting the nervous and immune systems.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences; Director, Interventional Psychiatry and Neuromodulation Research Program, Wayne State University