RE: Research News: New Insights Into How Ketamine Stops Depression
HAH never imagined my university would be featured in one of your articles!!! But yes, Zhejiang University is known all over china for the HUGE amount of papers that gets published every year!!
I read about this research in one of the newsletters I think. The key would be to find a way to specifically target the lateral habenula (I know this is much easier said than done), but a widespread blockade of NMDA to treat depression might have unforeseeable side effects, given glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter of the CNS. But blockade of NMDA receptors is already a known mechanism to prevent progression of neurodegenerative diseases, Who knows if this new line of research will link some underlying neurodegenerative process with depression.
Clearly they are doing some really impactful science there!
Well that is the goal, now that one knows what to target, ways to specifically get there can be devised.
What if only brief blockade is sufficient to treat depression for an extended period of time? Sure long term inhibition would affect a variety of other pathways, but perhaps that isnt necessary?
Now there is where things could get interesting.
Would be the ideal scenario, but so far I don't think there is any medication available that is able to do this for depression, or any other medication that I know of working on CNS neurotransmitter in this fashion.
Temporary inhibition having "significantly" long term action is yet alien, but definitely something that deserves attention!! Would definitely save the patients of so many unnecessary side effects, not to mention long term, potentially permanent damage to the CNS and even the risk of developing tolerance or dependence. Yes, this would definitely help with the issue of tolerance or dependence developing with so many of the CNS drugs.
I agree... I've read a book about depression (Depression and its Treament, just don't recall the author) one of the best thing the we could give to those people have depression is LOVE and understanding.
I don't have a medical background but I 've read those medicines for people has depression only alleviate their suffering .
👍👍😎