The World Health Organization estimates that 350 million people globally suffer from depression. While there is no miracle pill to solve the mental disorder, researchers from the UK discovered that ketamine, when controlled, can help treat people suffering from the disease.

Ketamine is typically used to as an anesthetic on animals, but in recent years it has moved into the party scene and has even been used as a date-rape drug. It comes in powdered or liquid form; it can be injected, consumed in drinks, snorted or added to cigarettes.

As a party drug it is extremely dangerous as it can increase the heart rate and blood pressure, cause hallucinations and can even be fatal. But researchers from the Oxford Health NHS Foundation and the University of Oxford have used the drug to treat patients suffering from depression.

They found that 29 percent of patients in the study noticed a significant improvement in their mood, and even 4 out of the 28 patients were completely free from depression after their last dose. But the study used ketamine as a controlled substance, and the patients were strictly monitored. Dr. Rupert McShane from Oxford Health warned that people suffering from depression should not self-medicate.

While the results of the study which were published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology are encouraging, it should be noted that ketamine by itself is not the cure for depression, if one exists.

United kingdom Depression