Depression is a common and severe medical condition. It negatively affects a human being in every way. It affects the way you think, the way you act and the way you feel.
Fortunately, it can be treated. Depression causes feelings of sadness, sorrow, and numbness. A person might lose interest in activities once enjoyed. Depression can lead to physical and mental problems.
Causes and symptoms:
Emotional effects:
- Grief and loss.
- Sadness.
- Anxiety.
- Worry.
- Guilt.
- Shame.
- Irritable.
- Mood swings.
- Tearful.
How it affects thoughts
- Self-criticism.
- Impaired memory.
- Confusion.
- Helpless.
- Toxicity.
- Suicidal.
- Indecisiveness.
- Brain chemistry imbalance.
Physical effects
- Lack of energy.
- Sleep problems.
- Weight gain or lose.
- Hopelessness.
- Substance abuse.
- Lack of motivation.
- Decreased energy and focus.
- Pain and medical issues.
- Physical health problems.
- Poor nutrition.
- The difficulty at work.
- Appetite changes.
Behavioral changes
- Isolation from others.
- Neglecting responsibilities.
- Stressful life events.
- Change in personal appearance.
High risk of suicide
People who are suffering from severe depression are at a high risk of committing suicide. A treatment could make a great difference at least in a short term. Antidepressants could help in the long-term treatment of the depression.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention notes that the suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and demoralize 44965 people die as a consequence of suicide every year.
They also added that there are 123 suicides per day on average.
Fast acting depression spray:
There is a spray available through which depression can be treated.
Esketamine nasal spray:
The Esketamine nasal spray is a spray made for people to get relief from the severe depression and suicidal thinkings.
Esketamine is a type of ketamine molecule anesthetic and antidepressive properties.
Esketamine does have some side effects such as hallucinations. This spray is very effective for the depressed people.
Ketamine is a fast-acting therapy for the depression in the nasal spray form. People who are depressed are more likely to commit suicide than the normal people. Ketamine is called “the most important discovery in half a century”.
Standard antidepressants recommended can take four to six weeks to induce a reaction. Even worse, those with severe depressive symptoms or the ones diagnosed to be at high immediate suicide risk are often left out of clinical trials for anti-depressant medications.
The study shows that 66 People with severe depression who were in the hospital for the suicidal risk were given the Esketamine; a nasal spray of ketamine. They are also given standard care along with the counseling. Within four hours 35 people who used the Esketamine showed great improvement and progress.
How Esketamine helps to bridge the efficacy gap?
Esketamine and other ketamine derivatives are attracting interest from many doctors because they could be used to bridge the “efficacy gap”.
Esketamine is not a long-term solution for the people who are depressed. The anti-depressant effect was no distinctive than standard care and there are side effects as well. Ketamine is known to cause hallucinations and feelings of “dissociation” such as feeling detached from the immediate surroundings or even from all physical or emotional experiences.
Its side effects include aggression, disturbance, dizziness, and abnormal heart rhythm.
Ketamine could cause a high blood pressure after each dose. While this isn’t an issue when the medication is used for a few days or weeks, this effect may limit its use in the long term and may prohibit those with very high blood pressure from using this medication.
Conclusion
Depression is a serious mental condition that can have a significant effect on quality of life and overall health. In resistant cases, which are non-responsive to normal forms of treatment may involve the abnormal activation of the lateral habenula. This region, which has become known as the ‘anti-reward system’ of the brain, has no direct connection to the mode of action of typical antidepressants. Its main neurotransmitter receptors, the NMDARs can be effectively blocked by ketamine. However, it is unlikely that this drug can be used in safe and tolerable chronic treatment for depression.
Source
Dr. Hafsa Akbar Ali
