Ketamine can shut down depression in an hour

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There may soon be a medicine that can help people with depression escape from their miseries within just an hour, according to a study published by the journal Nature.

In a world first, researchers in eastern China's Zhejiang University found that a main reason behind depression is the electrical bursts from a certain part of the brain.

Also, they found that a little bit of ketamine – an illegal drug in China – can block the bursts, and relieve the symptoms of depression in just an hour, according to tests conducted on mice and rats.

A slide from an introduction to the studies /Screenshot from CCTV

Concerned about the overuse of ketamine, the researchers also found three other substances that have the same blocking effect, which may lead toward a quick cure of depression’s symptoms.

There is almost no medicine that can alleviate the symptoms of depression in such a short time. Current medicines in the markets take months to take effect.

That's why the new Chinese study is significant, according to Hu Hailan, a researcher at the university.

Hu Hailian talks about her achievements at a press release. /Screenshot from ‍CCTV

"The pills we use now have side effects, and are too slow," she said. "Now we can try to design a safer and faster solution to depression."

An estimated total of 350 million people are suffering from depression, according to a World Health Organization report in 2017.

Depression has a yearly incidence rate of 4.4 percent, ranking first among all diseases.