Depression is among the most disabling of all conditions and affects about one in five people over the course of their lifetime.
What is it?
Depression is a common disorder characterised by feelings of sadness and a general lack of enjoyment as well as a range of physical symptoms such as difficulties with sleep, appetite loss, and low energy levels.
What are the treatments?
Mild to severe depression are currently treated with psychological or medical treatments, or a combination of both.
Difficult-to-treat depression occurs when usual treatment methods such as antidepressants and psychotherapies have failed to reduce symptoms.
A significant and growing body of research indicates that ketamine and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy can be effective in these cases.
Ketamine was originally developed as an anaesthetic, but studies have found it can alleviate depression and treat those with suicidal thoughts. Esketamine hydrochloride is indicated for treatment resistant depression which is defined as major depressive disorder in adults who have not responded adequately to at least two different antidepressants of adequate dose and duration to treat the current moderate to severe depressive episode. It must be initiated in conjunction with a newly initiated oral antidepressant.
Psilocybin (the active ingredient in what are known as magic mushrooms) is a hallucinogen that activates serotonin receptors in the brain that affect mood, cognition and perception. Recent trials exploring its use for major depressive disorders and anxiety have had encouraging results as psilocybin seems to activate previously dormant pathways and increase connectivity between different regions of the brain, which in turn enables patients to become more receptive to psychotherapy.
In Australia, psilocybin in conjunction with psychotherapy can now be prescribed by specifically authorised psychiatrists for treatment-resistant depression.
