A relatively new option is on the market for patients with severe depression who don't respond to traditional pharmaceuticals.
In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved esketamine, a derivative of the anesthetic ketamine, for use in "treatment resistant depression or major depression with suicidal features," said Dr. Tyler Kjorvestad, director of the Comprehensive Depression Assessment and Treatment Clinic at The University of Kansas Health System.
Two other psychedelic drugs, psilocybin, a component in magic mushrooms, and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, have been granted emergency use authorization to conduct clinical trials.
For treatment of post traumatic stress disorder,"MDMA may be ground breaking," said Dr. Kjorvestad.
Kjorvestad says FDA approval is on the horizon for psilocybin and MDMA, which he cautioned should not be used outside of approved clinical trials.
- Dr. Tyler Kjorvestad, director of the Comprehensive Depression Assessment and Treatment Clinic at The University of Kansas Health System
