Elon Musk-backed ketamine therapy offers hope to patients with severe depression where other medication fails to help, experts claim READ MORE: Mother switched antidepressants and thought she was a Viking By Xantha Leatham Deputy Science Editor For The Daily Mail Published: 16:26, 24 June 2024 | Updated: 17:28, 24 June 2024 e-mail 12 shares 8 View comments Take-at-home ketamine tablets are extremely effective against depression , according to a new study. The drug is primarily used in hospitals as an anaesthetic but is increasingly being explored as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety, with entrepreneur Elon Musk crediting it with boosting his mental health . It is usually administered via an injection or, in a few cases, as a nasal spray, but these can come with adverse effects such as high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat.
Now, experts have discovered that giving depressed patients an oral ketamine tablet – a much more convenient and acceptable form of the drug – might be the way forward. As part of a trial, carried out by researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand , 231 patients with treatment-resistant depression took a ketamine tablet once a day for five days. Ketamine is primarily used in hospitals as an anaesthetic but is increasingly being explored as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety, with entrepreneur Elon Musk crediting it with boosting his mental health Of those, 132 patients achieved remission from depression �.