4—iPain Living Magazine
New Treatment For
Depression Approved by FDA
First Time Since 1988
by Barby Ingle, B.Sc. Psyc
Let’s face it. Living with any
chronic illness is very difficult.
When it also involves pain, we
are bound to experience changes
in our personality, mood, and
mental health. It can be hard to
admit that we are depressed,
snap at others, and take our
physical pain out on them. My
husband and I spend a lot of
time helping others in pain,
many of them have depression.
Who wouldn't when your living
with overwhelming challenges
daily like chronic illness. Well,
now there is a new option approved
by the FDA that may
help.
Ketamine was created in 1962,
when it was first synthesized by
scientist Calvin Stevens at the
Parke Davis Laboratories. Ketamine
is a potent anesthetic that
blocks pain by acting as a Nmethyl
D-aspartate (NMDA)
receptor antagonist. It can also
reset glia nerve cells in the spine
and brain. On March 5, 2019 the
FDA approved Esketamine nasal
spray for hard-to-treat depression.
This is a well needed advancement
since the last time a
medication for depression
(Prozac) was approved in 1988.
The brand name for Esketamine
is Spravato by Janssen Pharmaceutical.
Having used IV-Ketamine infusions
myself since December
2009 for chronic pain, I know
that it also does have a positive
effect on my mood. Although
the dosing needed for depression
is far lower than needed in
chronic pain patients. Dr. Marc
Siegel, NYU Langone Professor
of Medicine and Fox News Correspondents
said, “Esketamine
will provide a quick turnaround
for suicidal patients.” The medication
works quickly. We are
talking hours instead of weeks or
months as with some other medications.
The FDA’s decision was made
less than a month after a panel of
experts who voted overwhelmingly
to approve the indication
for the new depression medication.
Dr. Tiffany Farchione, acting
director of the Division of
Psychiatry Products in the FDA's
Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research, in a press release
about the decision said, "There
has been a long-standing need
for additional effective treatments
for treatment-resistant depression,
a serious and lifethreatening
condition".
The medication works through a
different mechanism than other
depression medications on a biomechanical
level. Also, Prozac
and other depression medications
are taken in pill form and
the Esketamine will be administered
as a nasal spray used in
conjunction with an oral antidepressant.
The FDA also approved
it in a step therapy style,
where it can be used in patients
who have failed to respond ade