- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
Ketamine pill treats depression without psychedelic effects: study
A new pill that slowly releases ketamine could treat people with severe depression without giving them the psychedelic side effects of the often-misused drug, early trial results suggested on Monday.
First developed in the 1960s as an anaesthetic, ketamine's hallucinogenic and dissociative effects led to it becoming a party drug dubbed "Special K".
However, mounting research has demonstrated that ketamine is effective for the roughly quarter of people suffering from depression who see little benefit from common anti-depressant drugs.
In many countries, ketamine has been prescribed for depression for years.
US billionaire Elon Musk told CNN in March that he regularly uses a small amount of prescribed ketamine because it is "helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind".
The drug has long been administered intravenously in clinics, but more recently a nasal spray using a derivative called esketamine has increased in popularity.
Both can cause patients to have side effects such as dissociation, high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate.
There are also fears that medical use of the drug could slide into abuse.
The pill described in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday takes more than 10 hours to break down in the liver, lead study author Paul Glue told AFP.
"The really interesting feedback from patients is the lack of side effects -- no euphoria, no dissociation," said the researcher at New Zealand's University of Otago.
"I don't think these tablets would appeal to people who are abusing ketamine."
- Electro-shock alternative -
The phase 2 trial involved more than 270 people with depression who had previously tried an average of four different anti-depressant drugs.
More than half taking the ketamine pill went into remission for their depression, while 70 percent of the placebo group relapsed after 13 weeks, the study said.
Julaine Allan, an expert on mental health and addiction at Australia's Charles Sturt University who was not involved in the study, praised the trial while emphasising that more research is needed.
Ketamine does not work for everyone, and the "positive effects may wear off over time," she told AFP.
Michel Hoffmann, a psychiatrist at Geneva University Hospitals, said there is "real enthusiasm" in the medical community for ketamine's potential for treating depression.
"For patients who don't respond to conventional drugs, ketamine offers a way to avoid electro-shock therapy," he told AFP.
This last-resort treatment, which involves sending electric currents through the brain, has been proven to be effective.
But it can cause memory loss -- and some patients fear the procedure after seeing depictions of it in films such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
- Fears of 'opioid style crisis' -
Some psychiatrists remain hesitant to prescribe ketamine for depression, fearing their patients could end up misusing the drug.
Last year, "Friends" actor Matthew Perry became the latest high-profile death from a ketamine overdose.
US police are investigating how Perry obtained the doses that caused his death -- he had reportedly not had a supervised infusion session for several days.
One potential benefit of quick-acting ketamine seen in previous research is that it could help patients considering suicide.
But there is "the plausible concern that the widespread use of ketamine might trigger a new opioid style crisis," Oxford researcher Riccardo De Giorgi said in a 2022 BMJ editorial.
By ridding ketamine of the side effects sought by some partygoers, the slow-release pill could alleviate some of these concerns.
There were still some side effects from the pill, the most common being headaches, dizziness and anxiety.
More research including phase 3 trials is needed before the drug can be reviewed by national medicine agencies, meaning it will be at least two or three years before patients could potentially access the pills, Glue said.
O.Norris--AMWN