Staff Perspective: Is Ketamine a Cure for Treatment-Resistant Depression?
On 5 March 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the nasal spray medication Spravato (esketamine) for treatment-resistant depression in adults. Some people are applauding this new medication as a much-needed shift from the era of antidepressants, including Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. “Finally, a drug that uses a different mechanism of action than these older antidepressants,” they cheer. Esketamine is a glutamate receptor modulator that is believed to help restore synaptic connections in a depressed person’s brain cells. Other critics are more skeptical, concerned it won’t be the panacea we’ve been looking for.
