'Ketamine was the only thing that saved me': Depression sufferer

A new clinical trial has revealed a cheap version of ketamine could help treat major depression.

This July 25, 2018 photo shows a vial of ketamine, which is normally stored in a locked cabinet, in Chicago. It was launched decades ago as an anesthetic for animals and people, became a potent battlefield pain reliever in Vietnam and morphed into the trippy club drug Special K. Now the chameleon drug ketamine is finding new life as an unapproved treatment for depression and suicidal behavior. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford) Source: AP / Teresa Crawford/AP

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has several hallucinogenic effects.

A new clinical trial conducted in Australia and New Zealand has found a cheap version of ketamine is effective in treating major depression or treatment-resistant depression.

The trials were led by the University of Sydney and the Black Dog Institute, and funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

During the trial, 179 people were given two injections of ketamine each week for a month at a clinic where they were monitored for two hours while the effects of the sedative subsided.

Trial results: One in five participants achieved total remission, while one-third of their symptoms improved by at least 50 percent.

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