>The tens of millions of people who have severe depression have had few treatment options — until now. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved esketamine (Spravato), a fast-acting nasal spray derived from ketamine that is the first genuine advance in treating depression in more than 30 years. First synthesized in the 1960s and still used globally as an anes-thetic on battlefields and in surgery, ketamine became popular as an illicit club drug known as Special K in the 1980s and '90s because it triggered trippy dissociative side effects. But nearly two decades ago, researchers noticed it banished depression even in people who are suicidal or resistant to treatment. Another plus: Their response was swift and profound.
展开▼
