Pubdate: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Sharon Kirkey, Postmedia News Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?158 (Club Drugs) STREET DRUG COULD BE THE 'MAGIC' BULLET FOR TREATING DEPRESSION 'K' Reduces Symptoms Quickly A new antidepressant being tested in Canada appears to do what no other drug can -- increase connections between brain cells within hours to improve symptoms. The finding by Yale researchers may explain how one dose of ketamine can reduce symptoms of depression within 40 minutes among the hardest-to-treat cases, and could help spur development of quick-acting antidepressants. Prozac-like drugs and other antidepressants take at least two weeks to produce an effect, and sometimes months for a full effect. "They start taking the drug, they're still depressed, they start to get a bit more energy, but their mood doesn't increase," said Dr. James Kennedy, director of the neuroscience research department at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. "The problem is keeping the patient on the medication and preventing them from using their new energy in a bad way to kill themselves." Ketamine is a liquid anesthetic used mainly by veterinarians; it's also used in human medicine because it doesn't depress breathing. It's also an illegal club drug, known as "special K," or "vitamin K." The street version is usually sold in a powder form. It acts like LSD, causing vivid hallucinations in users. Earlier studies involving patients with "treatment-resistant" depression have found those given a dose of ketamine experience rapid and significant improvement in symptoms. In a small study published earlier this month on patients with bipolar depression, 71 per cent of participants responded to ketamine versus six per cent who responded to placebo. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom