T
twilyth
Guest
It's been known for at least the past year that the drug Ketamine (Special-K being one of its street monikers) significantly improves symptoms of severe depression. And it does so in hours to days rather than weeks or months as with most anti-depressants.
Now it looks like the key to its activity may have been found.
Interesting side note: High levels of BDNF seem to be associated with increased itching in eczema. (also from the wiki article).
Now it looks like the key to its activity may have been found.
Since this is a subject near, if not dear to my heart, I did a search to find supplements that might help increase BDNF. The first one I found was for curcumin (a type of spice). Got that from the wikipedia page on BDNF which referenced this article. I'm not recommending this. I don't even know if it would have the desired effect. I'm just putting it out there as a possible lead.At high doses, ketamine renders a person unconscious. At lower doses, the drug can induce euphoria, hallucinations and out-of-body experiences, properties that make “Special K” a popular drug of abuse. In the study, Ege Kavalali and his colleagues used low doses that wouldn’t induce psychotic effects.
They found that ketamine kicks off a series of biochemical changes in the brain that culminate in the production of a protein called BDNF. Low BDNF levels have been linked to depression. The researchers also found that mice genetically engineered to be unable to produce BDNF didn’t respond to ketamine.
So far, ketamine has been used in several small trials to treat people with severe depression. The drug seems to work quickly and effectively, but scientists haven’t clearly understood how.
Interesting side note: High levels of BDNF seem to be associated with increased itching in eczema. (also from the wiki article).