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<br /> Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we have a <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> for <keyword id="504808" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Foodies">foodies</keyword>? <keyword id="6354630" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mark-Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</keyword> hasn’t started one yet, but an Indian-origin start-up has come up with a social platform for <keyword id="2067882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Recipe-sharing">recipe sharing</keyword>. Meet <keyword id="2067846" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cucumbertown">Cucumbertown</keyword>.com, a delightfully simple <keyword id="2067867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Recipe-blogging-platform">recipe blogging platform</keyword> that connects <keyword id="2067869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amateur-cooks">amateur cooks</keyword> and <keyword id="2067871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pro-chefs">pro chefs</keyword> with the foodies of the world. On this fast-growing <keyword id="6354615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Social-network">social network</keyword>, users can publish their recipes without the least hassle and browse through the entire repository of <keyword id="2067874" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gourmet-creations">gourmet creations</keyword> and <keyword id="2067875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Culinary-delights">culinary delights</keyword>. However, it is the ‘social’ part that puts one’s <keyword id="1527920" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="cooking-skills">cooking skills</keyword> to test. There is a rating system used by the Cucumbertown tribe that effectively makes out whether a recipe is good, average or bad.<br />
<br /> But what intrigues one most on this recipe <keyword id="1188271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="publishing-platform">publishing platform</keyword> is the ease of use. On Cucumbertown, one can write a recipe in a standard format, add images/multimedia and upload everything with a few clicks. Once your ‘post’ is up, the social platform starts buzzing with <keyword id="824939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinions">opinions</keyword>, <keyword id="6400508" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Conversations">conversations</keyword> and ‘<keyword id="31407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="craves">craves</keyword>’ (similar to <keyword id="1110433" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Facebook-likes">Facebook Likes</keyword>). You can also follow your favourite cook/s and get customised notifications when content is published by your friends. Well, of course, <keyword id="629729" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Epicurious">Epicurious</keyword> has it all, but Cucumbertown is aiming even higher and wants to be the <keyword id="279713" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tumblr">Tumblr</keyword> in <keyword id="2067884" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cooking-and-food-space">cooking and food space</keyword>. Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability.<br />
<br />
<strong>Who runs Cucumbertown (www.cucumbertown.com): </strong>A team of four co-founders, hailing from three continents (two from <keyword id="6355033" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bangalore">Bangalore</keyword>, one from <keyword id="57516" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Zurich">Zurich</keyword> and one from Pennsylvania). In fact, none of them had met each other during the build-up period. <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> <keyword id="326430" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cherian-Thomas">Cherian Thomas</keyword> worked with <keyword id="188699" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Zynga">Zynga</keyword> before setting up Cucumbertown in 2012. Other three co-founders include <keyword id="238078" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CTO">CTO</keyword> <keyword id="2067847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Prabhakar">Arun Prabhakar</keyword> who had earlier worked with several Indian start-ups such as <keyword id="736993" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="taggle">Taggle</keyword> and TutorVista; <keyword id="2067892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chris-Lscher">Chris Lüscher</keyword>, founding partner at <keyword id="2067891" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Information-Architects">Information Architects</keyword>, one of the world’s leading design firms, and <keyword id="2067853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dan-Hauk">Dan Hauk</keyword>, <keyword id="2067932" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="theme-designer">theme designer</keyword> of <keyword id="825836" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wordpress">WordPress</keyword>, Tumblr and the likes. Dan left the start-up in August 2013, but still helps whenever he can.<br />
<br /> Although Cherian calls it a labour of love, he is hell-bent on building a <keyword id="2067893" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-product">global product</keyword>. The Bangalorean has sought world-class talent and built a strong team – one that has a good understanding of the <keyword id="35145" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-market">global market</keyword> and is totally aware of the challenges to be faced. The start-up currently operates from <keyword id="108002" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mountain-View">Mountain View</keyword> (<keyword id="2379" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="California">California</keyword>) and Bangalore.<br />
<br />
<strong>What inspired the venture: </strong>Pure passion. A die-hard foodie who loves to <keyword id="9230" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cook">cook</keyword>, Cherian has always wanted to blog about cooking, but it turned out to be a cumbersome process. Creating a blog, <keyword id="97496" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Writing">writing</keyword> &amp; uploading recipes and putting up images/videos on the site require a lot of technical knowledge. That’s when he realised how difficult it must be for cooks and chefs who may not be tech savvy. “So I decided to build a user-friendly platform, contacted the best guys to help me out and here we are,” reflects Cherian.<br />
<br />
<strong>What’s the pitch: </strong>Cucumbertown aims to be the ‘Tumblr’ for cooking and food space. It offers an attractive alternative to posting recipes and food-related content on WordPress, Tumblr, <keyword id="58677" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Blogger">Blogger</keyword> and so on. The start-up provides an easy-to-use interface for publishing recipes – so that even an amateur cook can gain traction online and wow readers by sharing his/her culinary creations. “We all know what blogging has done to content publishing. Cucumbertown can do the same in cooking &amp; food space, and leverage the potential of <keyword id="1175407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Internet-commerce">Internet commerce</keyword> in the process,” the CEO says.<br />
<br />
<strong>How it works: </strong>Cucumbertown is to cooking what Tumblr is to blogging and keeping things easy is the start-up’s USP. One can log in via Facebook or create a new account before using the site. Once there, you can publish recipes, upload images and search the <keyword id="2067873" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Recipe-database">recipe database</keyword> by cook, cuisine, course, <keyword id="493272" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ingredient">ingredient</keyword>, <keyword id="2067917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cooking-time">cooking time</keyword> and <keyword id="2067918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Difficulty-level">difficulty level</keyword>. Search results can be listed based on relevance, popularity or comments. Publishing on the site is especially easy as Cucumbertown provides a plethora of tools, including a <keyword id="2067859" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="recipe-editor">recipe editor</keyword>. Moreover, if a recipe is already up, you can post a different version, showing your culinary creativity.<br />
<br />
<strong>Claim to fame: </strong>Traction and global reach-out. The company claims it is one of the fastest growing food <keyword id="50752" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Networks">networks</keyword>, with users from around 40 countries. And right now, it is eyeing further expansion in the US and Europe. Interestingly, Cucumbertown is one of the heavily funded pre-revenue start-ups and has raised money from the same <keyword id="6359051" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="investors">investors</keyword> who had funded companies such as Facebook, <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>, Zynga and <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword>. Till date, the start-up has raised $300K in <keyword id="948731" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="seed-funding">seed funding</keyword>. Its key investors include <keyword id="1452668" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="500-Startups">500 Startups</keyword>, <keyword id="2067923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Naval-Ravikant">Naval Ravikant</keyword> of <keyword id="1922133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="AngelList">AngelList</keyword>, <keyword id="2067926" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Farmville-co-creator">Farmville co-creator</keyword> <keyword id="2067925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sizhao-Zao-Yang">Sizhao Zao Yang</keyword>, <keyword id="2067927" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maneesh-Arora">Maneesh Arora</keyword> of <keyword id="1734576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="MightyText">MightyText</keyword>, <keyword id="2067860" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Richard-Chen">Richard Chen</keyword> (ex-Google PM), <keyword id="2067928" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sonique-Player-co-creator">Sonique Player co-creator</keyword> <keyword id="2067848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tabreez-Verjee">Tabreez Verjee</keyword> and <keyword id="2067850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mokriya">Mokriya</keyword> founder-CEO <keyword id="2067849" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sunil-Kanderi">Sunil Kanderi</keyword>, among others.<br />
<br />
<strong>Show me the money: </strong>As an early consumer Web start-up that emulates <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword>, Cucumbertown is yet to have a solid monetisation model. “In fact, we will look at revenue generation in 3-4 years from now,” says Cherian. “We are now following a similar model that Twitter, Facebook and others pursued, which means we are currently focusing on how the product evolves and gets accepted in the global market. That’s what our investors also want – once the product gets the final shape, money will come in,” he adds.<br />
<br />
Cucumbertown has immense growth potential though, as the food and cooking space is getting bigger month on month. For instance, in November last year, 41% Americans visited such websites, up 2 million in terms of unique visitors from October 2013. These numbers won’t go down all of a sudden and the start-up can expect more traction when it starts expanding this year.<br />
<br />
<strong>Biggest challenge: </strong>Scaling to <keyword id="6409094" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="International-Markets">international markets</keyword>, especially non-English markets like <keyword id="87" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Germany">Germany</keyword>, while maintaining content and image quality. “We are a small team building a very big product. So we are not thinking about break-even or revenues at this point. The <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> we raised would last for a while. Meanwhile, we must ensure that our users have the <keyword id="2067933" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="best-publishing-tools">best publishing tools</keyword>. That way, they will keep coming back to us and the <keyword id="1413000" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="User-base">user base</keyword> will grow manifold,” explains Cherian.<br />
<br />
<strong>A word for wannapreneurs: </strong>If you have the passion, go for it. And don’t let failures discourage you. In India, shutting down your business may seem like a disaster, but things are quite different across the globe and especially in Silicon Valley. So many people have failed here, but they have found the courage and the means to start up all over again. Both our entrepreneurs and investors should grow a robust <keyword id="170907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="risk-appetite">risk appetite</keyword> and must have <keyword id="2067937" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Risk-tolerance">risk tolerance</keyword>. Moreover, we should give our ventures adequate time, so that they can generate value in the long run.

This Social Network Presents Amateur
Cooks & Pro Chefs; Wants To Be A Tumblr For Foodies

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daiana Lorenz/Youtube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Ketamine is emerging as a potential new treatment for some types of depression.</strong></li><li><strong>A new review published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry outlines the promise and limitations of existing ketamine research.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Some researchers have called the drug "the most important discovery in half a century."</strong></li></ul><p>It's been called "<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/68.full">the most important discovery in half a century</a>," and for some of the people who have tried ketamine, it may feel that way too.</p><p>The compound has a reputation as a party drug, but ketamine is increasingly being studied for its potential use as a rapid-fire treatment for depression. In people who live with the disease, thoughts of suicide can strike suddenly and without warning. Fast-acting, successful interventions are hard to come by.</p><p>But a spate of recent research suggests that ketamine could provide quick and powerful relief - even to people whose depression has repeatedly failed to respond to other medications and to those who are suicidal.</p><p>Experts say they're onto something promising. In a field that hasn't seen a new class of drugs in nearly four decades and in which patients are often desperate and suicidal, that kind of sentiment holds a lot of weight.</p><p>"Imagine arriving in the emergency room with severe pain from a kidney stone - pain so bad that you can't think. You'll do anything to make it go away. And the doctors say, 'here's a drug that we've been using for 30 years, it works 50-60% of the time, and it should start to work in 4-6 weeks'" <a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, told Business Insider. "That's currently the best we can do" for someone who is suicidal.</p><p>Cusin co-authored a large new review of the existing research on ketamine that was published this month in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. Her findings shed light on the need for new treatments, but she also advises caution for patients.</p><p>"We are just scratching the surface of the mechanisms of action with ketamine," Cusin said.</p><h2>Trying to tackle a uniquely troubling problem</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>For her review, Cusin looked at almost 40 ketamine studies that involved brain imaging.</p><p>Cusin faced challenges in assembling very different studies into one review, but she came up with some key takeaways. For one, she observed that people given ketamine experience measurable brain changes - many of them in areas that have been tied to our ability to process and regulate emotions.</p><p>Ketamine also appeared to increase activity in parts of the brain linked with reward processing, which would help to explain some of its antidepressant effects.</p><p>Nine out of 10 <a href="https://afsp.org/about-suicide/preventing-suicide/">people who die by suicide have a mental illness</a> at the time of their deaths, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). But current interventions for those who find themselves contemplating suicide are limited to hotlines, sedative drugs, and talk therapy.</p><p>Rates of suicide in the US have risen steadily over the past few years, with roughly <a href="https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/">123 people dying this way per day</a>, according to the AFSP. Men die by suicide 3.5 times more often than women.</p><p>The reasons behind this rise are complex, but two of the biggest problems are a lack of access to mental health care and the stigma that continues to shroud mental illness.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If you have asthma, it's not considered your fault. But somehow if part of your brain isn't functioning, it's your fault," Cusin said. "It's a residual leftover from more ignorant times."</span></p><p>It's easy to see why the prospect of a new approach would inspire hope.</p><h2>The promise of a new drug</h2><p>Physicians and psychiatrists have been doling out the same drugs to people with depression for decades. But research suggests that while antidepressants can work wonders for some people, they don't help everyone. The medications also come with a range of unpleasant side effects that can include weight gain, less interest in sex, anxiety, and insomnia. </p><p>Like Cusin, most scientists who work in the space think it's time for a new tactic.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Some of them have found <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/psychedelics-depression-anxiety-alcoholism-mental-illness-2017-1">hope in recent months in psychedelic drugs like ayahuasca and magic mushrooms</a> - which appear to reduce depressive symptoms by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/psychedelics-depression-anxiety-alcoholism-mental-illness-2017-1"> increasing the connectivity among previously segregated parts of the brain</a>. But those drugs are widely illegal, and many people aren't interested in having a full-blown psychedelic experience.</p><p>Several recent studies published over the past few months suggest that ketamine could be the alternative drug people are looking for, since it is legal and also appears to work quickly.</p><p>Last December, researchers at <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647">Columbia University Medical Center</a> who were working with depressed and suicidal patients found that ketamine worked significantly better at curbing their suicidal thoughts than a commonly used sedative. Most participants <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647">in the study</a> saw their moods began to lift within 24 hours. In some people, those effects lasted more than a month.</p><p>The authors of a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677048/">2012 review</a> of four preliminary studies on ketamine in patients with severe depression expressed surprise at how rapidly the drug appeared to produce positive, precise results.</p><p>"The findings were unanticipated, especially the robustness and rapidity of benefit," the authors <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677048/">wrote in their paper</a>. "Ketamine appeared to directly target core depressive symptoms such as sad mood, suicidality, helplessness and worthlessness, rather than inducing a nonspecific mood-elevating effect."</p><p>The researchers behind <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/68.full">another 2012 study</a> on the drug went called ketamine "the most important discovery in half a century."</p><p>Ketamine's promise has not gone unnoticed among pharmaceutical companies. Johnson and Johnson is developing a form of ketamine that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19224412">could be better tolerated</a> and would be <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/j-j-bags-a-second-breakthrough-tag-for-planned-depression-blockbuster">marketed as an antidepressant</a>. And Allergan is in the last phase of clinical trials with a drug that <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/regulatory/allergan-s-depression-drug-bags-a-breakthrough-tag-on-way-to-phase-iii">acts on the same receptor as ketamine</a>.</p><p>However, Cusin believes we need more research.</p><h2>The biggest unanswered question: long-term effects</h2><p>Some people with depression are opting to pay for pricey treatments at a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-clinic-visit-drug-infusion-2017-10">range of clinics currently offering the drug</a> - if they can afford it. Treatments can cost between <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/886750#vp_1">$400 and $1,000 per infusion</a>, and most clinics recommend that patients receive more than one ketamine infusion to get the maximum benefit.</p><p>However, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the existing drug or any new formulation of it to treat depression. Using ketamine as an antidepressant is therefore considered "off-label," which means it is up to health insurance providers to decide whether to offer patients any reimbursement. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Victoria Arocho</span></p><p class="caption">This is a vial of the animal tranquilizing drug ketamine hydrochloride, better known in the drug culture as "Special K." Authorities say that the drug "Special K," which is legal in most states with no penalties for possession, is showing up at teen-age parties all over the country. Several Massachusetts veterinary clinics have been burglarized according to police by thieves searching for the drug.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Plus, like any drug, ketamine has risks and side effects; some studies suggest that could include blood pressure complications. Most importantly, we don't have many studies that tell us what happens in the long term after a ketamine infusion. Most existing ketamine and depression studies <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677048/">have been limited to several weeks</a>, so it remains unclear how long the benefits last and what the long-term effects may be.</p><p>Because of these complications and unanswered questions, many people wanting to try ketamine for depression are left in a sort of limbo.</p><p>But Cusin believes the drug "absolutely has potential."</p><p>"In<span style="font-weight: 400;"> the next few years I'm really hopeful that we're going to see new drugs that are completely different than what we have now," she said.<br /></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-new-way-fight-depression-study-sadness-happiness-2016-6">Scientists say combining these 2 activities could be an effective way to fight depression</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Ketamine could be the new drug for depression that researchers have been looking for

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>CNBC</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Investors' excitement about a promising new drug for depression reached a fever pitch last week when the CEO of the company behind it likened the drug to an antibiotic.</strong></li><li><strong>Sage Therapeutics' CEO Jeff Jonas said the drug, called SAGE-217, could be administered like a two-week course of antibiotics, which are given only once.</strong></li><li><strong>A once-only course of treatment is essentially unheard of for depression, and experts within and outside of the company say they doubt that's how SAGE-217 would actually work. Instead, they say it would likely need to be given monthly.</strong></li><li><strong>Sage has yet to complete any long-term studies of the drug.</strong></li></ul><p>Investors' excitement about a promising new drug for depression reached a fever pitch last week when the CEO of the company behind it likened the drug to an antibiotic.</p><p>This drug has the "potential for patients with major depressive disorder to feel well within days, with just a two week course of treatment - similar to how antibiotics are used today - instead of enduring long-term chronic treatment," Sage Therapeutics' CEO Jeff Jonas <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180612005398/en/Sage-Announces-Pivotal-Phase-3-Trial-Status">said on Tuesday</a> of his company's drug, SAGE-217.</p><p>The comments came shortly after the company <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/12/sage-shares-up-after-fda-allows-expedited-depression-drug-development.html">said it had received the green light</a> from the Food and Drug Administration to accelerate the approval process for its drug.</p><p>A once-only course of treatment is essentially unheard of for depression or for any other chronic disease. And experts within and outside of the company say they doubt that's how SAGE-217 would actually work. Instead of working as a once-only treatment, they said that data on the drug suggest that its effects would likely last as long as one month. Patients would still need to take the drug regularly for long-lasting results.</p><p>More importantly, although the drug has shown a promising potential ability to treat depression in preliminary studies, those findings have yet to be borne out by the kinds of longer and larger trials that are needed before it gets anywhere near federal approval.</p><h2>An area in desperate need of new treatments</h2><p>Depression is the<span> </span><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/">leading cause of disability worldwide</a>, and<span> </span><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/">it can kill</a>. While not the sole cause of suicide, depression is often a contributing factor. And while suicide rates have<span> </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suicide-rates-climbing-higher-in-the-us-especially-in-middle-age-2018-6">climbed for nearly 20 years</a>, not a single new drug for depression has emerged.</p><p>Most treatments for depression and suicidal thinking are limited to a narrow class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which includes popular drugs like Prozac and Lexapro. While they can help some people, failure rates hover around 50%.</p><p>So researchers <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">are on the hunt for better options</a> - options that could soon include Sage's new compound, which preliminary studies have suggested works well to treat depressive symptoms within a short time period.</p><h2>Sage's drug would not be a one-and-done treatment</h2><p>But Sage's drug wouldn't be a one-and-done kind of depression treatment, according to researchers within and outside the company. In sharp contrast to what Sage CEO Jeff Jonas suggested last week, the drug would most likely need to be administered regularly, possibly as frequently as every month, <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/people/gerard_sanacora-1.profile">Gerard Sanacora</a>, the director of the Yale Depression Research Program and a clinical advisor to Sage, told Business Insider.</p><p>"There will need to be further studies" to help the team fully understand how well SAGE-217 works and how long its depression-relieving effects last, Sanacora said.</p><p>In a statement emailed to Business Insider, a representative from Sage said:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"An important aspect of what we are doing is minimizing chronic exposure to pharmaceutical treatments for diseases like depression, a desired outcome for patients. Given the ongoing concern about chronic dosing of antidepressants, the fact that episodic dosing has not been achieved previously is precisely the reason to keep trying."</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"As noted in our recent announcement, Sage will conduct an additional open-label study of SAGE-217 that follows approximately 300 patients for 6 months and 100 patients for one year, allowing us to evaluate the potential of treating recurrent or new major depressive episodes as needed. As part of this study, patients will be retreated if symptoms of major depressive disorder return."</p><p><a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University who specializes in depression, cautioned that she's seen many promising drug candidates for depression fail once they get to the last phase of clinical study - phase 3. Sage has yet to complete those studies. </p><p>While the Sage compound appears "incredible" in some ways, Cusin said "the problem is we have seen this before with other phase 2 studies that don't get held out in phase 3."</p><p>So Cusin said she is "cautiously - or preliminarily - excited," but added that she felt it was "a little excessive to say a chronic disease would disappear after two weeks, that's something you can't say about diabetes or any other chronic disease."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tallest-lifeforms-all-time-2018-6">The tallest lifeforms of all time</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A CEO sent his stock surging 15% when he likened his new depression drug to an antibiotic - but a consultant to the company told us it won't work that way

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daiana Lorenz/Youtube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/ketamine">Ketamine</a> is emerging as a potential new drug for depression - the first of its kind in 35 years.</strong></li><li><strong>Johnson &amp; Johnson is actively pursuing a nasal formulation of the drug. Researchers plan to present the results of an advanced clinical trial of the formula next month at the American Psychiatric Association meeting.</strong></li><li><strong>An early glimpse at some of the results suggests that the formula is safe and linked with sustained improvements in depressive symptoms over a year. </strong></li></ul><p><br />Ketamine, which has been called "<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/68.full">the most important discovery in half a century</a>," just got a step closer to becoming the first new drug for depression in 35 years.</p><p>The compound has a reputation as a party drug, but many experts say that's unfair, since ketamine is increasingly being studied for its potential use as a rapid-fire treatment for depression.</p><p>In people who live with the disease, thoughts of suicide can strike suddenly and without warning. Fast-acting, successful interventions are hard to come by. But a spate of recent research suggests ketamine could provide quick and powerful relief - even to people whose depression has repeatedly failed to respond to other medications, as well as to individuals who are suicidal.</p><p>The promising studies on the treatment so far have come with one important caveat, however: the drug has to be taken intravenously, or via an injection, over roughly 45 minutes. That makes it a lot harder to get and take than a typical antidepressant pills such as Lexapro.</p><p>With that in mind, Johnson &amp; Johnson company Janssen Research and Development has been actively pursuing the development of a formulation of the drug that would be safe and more convenient to administer. They're not alone: Allergan is in the last phase of clinical trials with a drug that <a href="https://www.fiercebiotech.com/regulatory/allergan-s-depression-drug-bags-a-breakthrough-tag-on-way-to-phase-iii">acts on the same receptor as ketamine</a>.</p><p>Yet Johnson &amp; Johnson may be the furthest ahead in its research. The company <a href="https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/esketamine-recieves-breakthrough-therapy-designation-from-us-food-and-drug-administration-for-major-depressive-disorder-with-imminent-risk-of-suicide">received breakthrough therapy designation</a> for its nasal formulation from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2016, an elite and competitive status that is designed to speed the drug through the complex federal approval process.</p><p>Earlier this month, the company shared with Business Insider some early results of a clinical trial of the nasal-spray formulation of the drug. The results suggest that the formula is well-tolerated by patients and linked with long-lasting improvements in depressive symptoms.</p><h2>The promising <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> on ketamine</h2><p>Ketamine's utility as an antidepressant has recently started to gain attention.</p><p>A recent <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647">study out of Columbia University Medical Center</a> found that ketamine worked significantly better at curbing suicidal thoughts in depressed patients than a commonly used sedative.</p><p>A spate of other studies over the past several years have suggested that ketamine may <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-for-depression-2017-5">provide swift and powerful relief</a> to people suffering from some of the hardest-to-treat forms of depression - an illness that is the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/">leading disability worldwide</a>. </p><p>However, most studies of ketamine for depression have only lasted several weeks, which makes it difficult to say whether the drug has long-lasting potential. But Johnson &amp; Johnson's clinical trial took place over nearly a year. Additionally, rather than addressing people's depression with ketamine alone, the researchers gave them the ketamine nasal spray along with an oral antidepressant.</p><p>Data from their clinical study - which used esketamine, the chemical mirror image of ketamine - suggest that patients tolerated the drug well. Most importantly, the treatment was also linked with sustained improvements in depressive symptoms over more than 11 months - making it one of the longest-lasting studies of ketamine to date.</p><p>"Janssen is committed to developing esketamine for treatment-resistant depression, a serious biological illness with high unmet need," Jaskaran Singh, Janssen's senior director of clinical research in its neuroscience therapeutics area, said during a presentation of the results on March 23 in Oxford.</p><p>Their research currently is focused on people with one of the hardest to treat forms of depression (known as treatment-resistant depression). But company representatives told Business Insider that they also have plans to study the formula in adults and teens with major depressive disorder who are at imminent risk for suicide.</p><h2>How ketamine is being administered now</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Erin Brodwin / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>After a 45-minute infusion of ketamine, clients at a clinic in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood are not partying.</p><p>Instead, they're in a state of quiet contemplation - reclining on cushioned chairs, listening to music, or occasionally striking a tranquil yoga pose.</p><p>These clients are patients at one of 10 ketamine clinics operated by Actify Neurotherapies, a network that offers the drug via intravenous injection to people diagnosed with severe forms of anxiety and depression.</p><p>While ketamine is a powerful dissociative that can induce feelings of being separated from one's own body, it is also <a href="http://www.who.int/medicines/news/20160309_FactFile_Ketamine.pdf">one of the safest and most widely used legal anesthetics</a>. Because the drug is federal approved for anesthesia, Actify - along with an estimated 50 to 100 other providers across the US - are legally able to administer it for depression.</p><p>But using it for depression is considered "off-label" since that application of the drug is not outlined in its federally-approved designation. That means many patients must pay for the treatments out of pocket. Some insurance companies may reimburse some of the cost, but many do not. And the treatments aren't cheap - they typically <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/886750#vp_1">range from $400 to $1,000 per infusion</a>; at Actify, they are $570 each.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-research-2017-12">At Actify's San Francisco office</a>, each two-hour visit includes 45 minutes of ketamine infusion, 45 minutes of a saline drip, and a consultation with <a href="https://ktcpartnership.com/san-francisco-ca/">Alison McInnes</a>, a physician who founded a regional ketamine therapy program with Kaiser Permanente. Most patients receive 10 infusions over the course of 10 weeks - three in the first week, two in the second, and one infusion in the third, fourth, and fifth weeks. The last two infusions are spread between weeks seven and 10.</p><p>"These are people who've been sick for decades and heard from multiple doctors that there's nothing else they can do," <a href="https://ktcpartnership.com/about-us/">Steve Levine</a>, a psychiatrist and the CEO of Actify, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-research-2017-12">told Business Insider during a recent visit to the clinic</a>. "We're enabling them to get back to their normal lives."</p><h2>A wave of hope from experts</h2><p>Experts who study depression say they're onto something promising with ketamine. In a field that hasn't seen a new class of drugs in nearly four decades - and in which patients are often desperate and suicidal - that kind of sentiment holds a lot of weight.</p><p>"Imagine arriving in the emergency room with severe pain from a kidney stone - pain so bad that you can't think. You'll do anything to make it go away. And the doctors say, 'here's a drug that we've been using for 30 years, it works 50-60% of the time, and it should start to work in 4-6 weeks'" <a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2">told Business Insider in March</a>. </p><p>For someone who is suicidal, "that's currently the best we can do," she said. </p><p>Cusin co-authored a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2">large recent review of the existing research on ketamine</a> that was published in March in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. Her findings shed light on the need for new treatments, but she also advises caution for patients.</p><p>"We are just scratching the surface of the mechanisms of action with ketamine," Cusin said. "In the next few years I'm really hopeful that we're going to see new drugs that are completely different than what we have now." </p><p>Don Mordecai, Kaiser Permanente's national leader for mental health, echoed some of Cusin's sentiment. Despite many questions about how to determine the right dose of ketamine and how long its benefits might last, Mordecai's overall assessment seems positive.</p><p>"There's still enough there to be excited about its potential," he said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-humans-evolved-to-be-best-endurance-runners-2018-3">How humans evolved to become the best runners on the planet</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Ketamine could become the first new depression drug in more than 30 years

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Erin Brodwin / Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A ketamine clinic in San Francisco, CA</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Once dismissed as a "party drug," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-brain-how-it-works-opioid-2018-8">ketamine</a> is emerging as a potential alternative treatment for depression.</li><li>A growing list of academic medical centers now offer the drug, including Columbia University, which <a href="https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/columbia-psychiatry-launches-its-next-generation-brain-therapeutics-program-ketamine-treatment">began offering</a> ketamine to patients with severe depression this fall.</li><li>Ketamine <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">works differently</a> from common antidepressants like Celexa or Prozac and has been called "the most important discovery in half a century."</li><li>Pharmaceutical companies including Allergan and Johnson &amp; Johnson are also working on developing blockbuster <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">antidepressants inspired by ketamine</a>.</li></ul><p>Ketamine, a drug once associated with raucous parties, bright lights, and loud music, is increasingly being embraced as an alternative depression treatment for the millions of patients who don't get better after trying traditional medications.</p><p>The latest provider of the treatment is Columbia University, one of the nation's largest academic medical centers.</p><p>Starting this month, Columbia <a href="https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/columbia-psychiatry-launches-its-next-generation-brain-therapeutics-program-ketamine-treatment">joined</a> a growing list of major medical centers offering <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-brain-how-it-works-opioid-2018-8">ketamine</a> infusions to patients with severe depression for whom traditional antidepressants like Prozac or Celexa have failed. </p><p>Elsewhere in the US, patients can get ketamine at a smattering of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-clinic-visit-drug-infusion-2017-10">private clinics</a>, but not all of them <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/27/podcast-fish-oil-vc-monopolies-ketamine/">are subject</a> to the strict medical oversight that's generally required of academic medical centers. In some cases, patients can also get the treatment by participating in research studies, but Columbia's move helps make the treatment more broadly available.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">Ketamine</a> is not cheap, nor is it quick to administer. Because it's given by way of an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-clinic-visit-drug-infusion-2017-10">IV drip</a>, the process can take between 45 minutes and two hours. Each session costs $500 to $750 (Columbia is charging $650) and is not covered by insurance, because ketamine is only approved in the US for use as an anesthetic. </p><p>Patients given ketamine for depression are typically advised to get 8-12 sessions, bringing the total cost to as much as $9,000. </p><p>Despite its hefty price, ketamine has been called "<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/68.full">the most important discovery in half a century</a>" for mental illness.  The drug appears to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">engage a different part of the brain</a> than traditional antidepressants, and its apparent rapid-fire effects may be especially useful for staunching suicidal thinking in people who are considering taking their own lives, experts say. Ketamine also has a long history of being used to prevent pain, which suggests to clinicians that it's relatively safe.</p><p>"Ketamine is the real deal in that it's a genuine pharmacologic agent that's been used for a long time for anesthesia," <a href="https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/profile/jeffrey-lieberman-md">Jeffrey Lieberman</a>, the chair of the psychiatry department at Columbia University's Irving Medical Center and the director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, told Business Insider.</p><p>And while ketamine's applications for mental illness are relatively recent, Lieberman is hopeful that the drug will eventually be more widely available to patients in need.</p><h2>'The most important discovery in half a century'?</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Cozine/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Most existing antidepressants, from Abilify to Zoloft, work by plugging up the places where our brain takes up serotonin, a chemical messenger that plays a key role in mood. The result is more free-floating serotonin and, in some people, relief from a dark curtain of depressive symptoms. But as many as <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/mount-sinai/in-an-old-drug-new-hope-for-depression/">one in three</a> patients fail to respond to the medications, and no new depression drug has been invented since then.</p><p>Those are the patients who experts say <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">ketamine</a> might help.</p><p>In those patients, it can be helpful to think of depression as akin to severe pain, <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a><span>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University,</span> told Business Insider this spring. When the pain gets so intense that it gets in the way of everyday activities - even something as simple as writing an email - patients can feel desperate enough to do anything to alleviate the suffering. But current antidepressants take 4-6 weeks to work.</p><p>That's not good enough for patients who need help now, said Cusin.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-clinic-visit-drug-infusion-2017-10">A handful of clinics is embracing a 'party drug' that could be a rapid-fire depression treatment - we got a look inside</a></em></p><h2>A growing list of providers offering ketamine</h2><p>Large institutions are starting to embrace ketamine therapy.</p><p>On the West Coast, the University of California in San Diego <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/UCSD-Psychiatrist-Uses-Party-Drug-Special-K-to-Treat-Depression-PTSD-353115081.html">began</a> offering the infusions to select patients with severe depression in 2010. Kaiser Permanente <a href="https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/sites/default/files/Mental%20Health%20America%20Ketamine%20Presentation%20June%202017.ppt">started</a> administering ketamine as part of a pilot program in Northern California for people who didn't respond to other medications in 2015.</p><p>On the opposite side of the country, a handful of specialty centers recently began offering the treatments. They include Emory, Yale, and Massachusetts General Hospital, which began offering the treatments this fall.</p><p>Several other medical centers including the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/mount-sinai/in-an-old-drug-new-hope-for-depression/">Icahn School of Medicine</a> at Mount Sinai are administering the drug as part of ongoing research on ketamine and depression.</p><p>"The rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine in patients with severe, chronic, and treatment-resistant forms of this illness may represent a true medical breakthrough," James Murrough, the director of the mood and anxiety disorders program and an associate professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine, wrote in an <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/mount-sinai/in-an-old-drug-new-hope-for-depression/">October story</a> for Scientific American.</p><p>Columbia University's program is one of the first to not require patients to show a specific number of failed treatments for depression in the past. (At Kaiser, patients must show that they've tried at least three different antidepressants and failed to respond to each one.)</p><p>Still, Lieberman stressed to Business Insider that experts carefully weigh the benefits and risks before recommending the treatment to a patient, and they always advise people to try traditional medications first.</p><p>"We have to do a very careful history and if [someone has] a mood disorder, what's their treatment been? Is the person genuinely unresponsive to standard treatments?" Lieberman said.</p><h2>How ketamine works</h2><p>Ketamine is believed to engage a different brain system than the one targeted by traditional antidepressants. It appears to act on key switches in the brain called NMDA receptors, which influence mood and help keep our brain's synapses - the delicate branches that serve as the ecosystem for our thoughts - flexible and resilient.</p><p>Depression damages these brain switches. And while traditional drugs may help to rescue them over time using serotonin, ketamine appears to deliver its aid directly to the source, plugging up NMDA receptors like a cork in a bottle and nipping depressive symptoms quickly.</p><p>A spate of recent research supports this idea of how ketamine provides relief.</p><p>Last December, researchers working with depressed and suicidal patients concluded in a <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647">study</a> that ketamine was better at curbing suicidal thoughts than a commonly-used sedative. Most participants <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647">in the study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry,</a> said their moods began to lift within 24 hours of receiving the drug. In some people, those effects lasted more than a month.</p><p>Similarly, the authors of a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677048/">2012 review</a> of four preliminary studies on ketamine in patients with severe depression expressed surprise at how rapidly the drug appeared to produce positive and precise results.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">Pharma giants are looking to ketamine for clues to the next blockbuster depression drug - and science says they're onto something big</a></em></p><p>But ketamine also has several drawbacks, aside from its steep price tag.</p><p>Ketamine induces what many people refer to as a high. This includes feelings of being dissociated from one's body, floating, as well as seeing bright colors and shapes. Some experts have suggested this could lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27261367">issues with addiction</a>.</p><p>In addition, ketamine's side effects can include blurred vision, headaches, and increased heart rate. And clinicians aren't yet sure how long ketamine's anti-depressive effects last. While some patients appear to experience a complete alleviation of their symptoms after several weeks of treatment, others either fail to respond or only see improvement for several days or weeks.</p><p>Nevertheless, several clinics outside of established medical centers are also offering the treatments, and while some are legitimate, others are what Lieberman described as "scary" and "aggressive" in their marketing tactics.</p><p>"It's not that ketamine shouldn't be available - it absolutely should - it just has to be available in a legitimate and medically-controlled and rigorous setting," Lieberman said.</p><h2>Ketamine is inspiring several attempts to create the next blockbuster depression drug</h2><p>Ketamine is also inspiring research into other new depression drugs that work on the brain in a similar way. Homing in on this channel appears to provide relief from depression that is better, arrives faster, and works in more people than existing drugs.</p><p>Allergan, the multinational pharmaceutical giant known for Botox and birth control, recently dove deep into research on an injectable depression drug called Rapastinel, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">works on the same brain pathway as ketamine</a>. San Francisco-based drug company VistaGen is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">working on a similar drug</a> known for now only as AV-101.</p><p>Similarly, Johnson &amp; Johnson submitted a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-5">nasal spray formulation of ketamine</a> called esketamine to the FDA in September for its review. New York-based biotech company Seelos Therapeutics also has a nasal form of ketamine in its pipeline called SLS-002.</p><p>But research is still early, experts say.</p><p>"We are just scratching the surface of the mechanisms of action with ketamine," Cusin said this spring.</p> <p class="tagline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/ai-in-us-healthcare?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=dhealth_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=dhealth_ctgr_leadgen_ai_in_us_healthcare"></a></hr></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/psychology-trick-curb-appetite-lose-weight-2016-8">A Harvard psychologist reveals the secret to curbing your appetite</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A 'party drug' with potential to be the next blockbuster antidepressant is edging closer to the mainstream, but it could set you back $9,000

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daiana Lorenz/Youtube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-closer-to-becoming-depression-drug-2018-4">Medications inspired by ketamine</a> could be the next blockbuster antidepressants. </strong></li><li><strong>Pharmaceutical companies including Allergan and Johnson &amp; Johnson are in hot pursuit of the drugs, with several promising clinical trials underway.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The medications would be the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2">first new drugs for the condition in 35 years</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>When Armin Szegedi was working as a psychiatrist in Berlin, he felt as if he were running a lengthy experiment on his depressed patients.</p><p>After prescribing them an antidepressant, he'd wait up to a month to hear if the drugs were working, Szegedi, who's now a vice president of clinical development at Allergan, told Business Insider. Then he'd prepare for bad news, since only about one out of every three of his patients responded to the medications.</p><p>The rest of them clearly needed something else - but he had nothing to give.</p><p>"The frustrating thing is that all the approved antidepressants are remarkably similar," Szegedi said. "But you never know which patient will be treated best by which drug."</p><p>For the first time in decades, Szegedi thinks a better option is within reach: a drug inspired by ketamine.</p><p>A widely used anesthetic that is also known as a party drug, ketamine is now <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2">emerging as a rapid-fire antidepressant</a>. Early studies suggest that it could help people who've failed to respond to existing medications and those who are suicidal.</p><p><a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, is one of the leading researchers studying ketamine. Although Cusin said the drug needs more research, she told Business Insider that it "absolutely has potential."</p><p>Pharmaceutical companies including Allergan and Johnson &amp; Johnson are in hot pursuit of a new blockbuster depression drug that takes after ketamine, which acts on a brain mechanism that scientists have only recently begun to explore. Homing in on this channel appears to provide relief from depression that is better, arrives faster, and works in far more people than existing drugs.</p><h2>Ketamine may reveal what depression really does to the brain</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/brain?photo=rmWtVQN5RzU">Unsplash / jesse orrico</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Depression is one of the world's leading causes of death. Our current treatments, which take roughly five weeks to begin to take effect, may not work well in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0087089/">up to 80% of the people who get them</a>.</p><p>Most existing antidepressants, from Abilify to Zoloft, work by plugging up the places where our brain takes up serotonin, a chemical messenger that plays a key role in mood. The result is more free-floating serotonin and, in some people, relief from a dark curtain of depressive symptoms.</p><p>The new drugs being developed by Allergan and Johnson &amp; Johnson, as well as one from San Francisco-based drug company VistaGen, capitalize on a different mechanism in the brain - the system that's engaged by ketamine.</p><p>"When we say this is a new generation of drugs, we mean it. This drug is fundamentally different from all the other antidepressants that have been approved so far," Shawn Singh, VistaGen's CEO, told Business Insider.</p><p>Ketamine affects key switches in the brain called NMDA receptors. Like serotonin receptors, those for NMDA play an important role in our mood and help keep our emotions in check. But NMDA receptors also keep our brain's synapses - the delicate branches that serve as the ecosystem for our thoughts - flexible and resilient.</p><p>Potentially because of depression's damaging effects on these brain switches, it appears to cause our synaptic branches to shrivel up and in some cases even to die. Scientists think existing antidepressants send help to those branches indirectly over time by way of serotonin. Ketamine, by contrast, delivers its aid directly to the source, plugging up NMDA receptors like a cork in a bottle and nipping depressive symptoms within hours.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4424898/">2012 study published in the journal Science</a> analyzed ketamine's rapid ability to reduce depressive symptoms in people who'd failed to respond to other drugs. The authors called ketamine "the most important discovery in half a century." Five years later, researchers concluded in <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060647?journalCode=ajp">a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry</a> that the drug's antidepressant effects appeared to last at least a month.</p><h2>Turning a 'party drug' into a blockbuster medication</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Today, roughly 50 to 100 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-depression-clinic-visit-drug-infusion-2017-10">clinics across the US</a> offer ketamine off-label for depression. It's administered through an IV drip, a roughly 45-minute process that has to be done in a clinical setting.</p><p>Because ketamine is not FDA-approved to treat depression, most patients pay for it out of pocket. It isn't cheap, typically costing between <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/886750#vp_1">$400 to $1,000 per infusion</a>. (Some clinics recommend patients do up to 10 sessions for the best results.)</p><p>Another issue with ketamine in its current form is that it's a dissociative drug, so can induce powerful feelings of confusion, dizzy spells, and the sensation of being separated from one's own body.</p><p>Experts like Cusin worry those effects could lead patients to either react negatively to the experience and not want to repeat it, or react positively and want to repeatedly use, potentially leading to a drug-use disorder.</p><p>Those concerns may be relevant to Johnson &amp; Johnson's work, since the company's formulation of the depression drug is a nasal spray with a chemical mirror image of ketamine.</p><p>The drugs being developed by Allergan and VistaGen, on the other hand, are inspired by ketamine but appear to produce fewer negative side effects. That's thanks to a slightly more sophisticated way of working on the brain's NMDA receptor.</p><p>Instead of plugging the receptor up like a cork in a bottle as ketamine does, Allergan's and VistaGen's drugs merely restrict its flow of activity.</p><p>Allergan is currently testing a shot formulation of its drug, Rapastinel, which would take 10 to 30 seconds to administer. VistaGen is pursuing an oral tablet version of its drug, currently known only as AV-101.</p><p>"We're essentially going for a kinder and gentler version of ketamine without the requirement for an IV and without the nasty side effects," Singh said of VistaGen's approach. </p><h2>The path ahead for ketamine-inspired depression drugs</h2><p>All of the new drugs being developed have shown promise for rapidly decreasing the symptoms of depression in patients enrolled in clinical trials.</p><p>The most promising results have come from Allergan's Rapastinel and VistaGen's AV-101.</p><p>"We now have these larger studies that confirm what we hoped - that we have a rapid antidepressant with good safety and little or no abuse potential," Szegedi said.</p><p>The US Food and Drug Administration appears to agree: Rapastinel has twice been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation, a distinction designed to expedite vital new drugs through the development process. AV-101 was recently placed on the agency's Fast Track list of new treatments for serious conditions that have an unmet medical need.</p><p>Johnson &amp; Johnson researchers are expected to present the results of the next stage of their research to the American Psychiatric Association in May but have not yet presented their findings to the FDA.</p><p>"To offer people who are depressed a treatment that could potentially help them within hours, is well tolerated, and has hopefully no significant abuse liability - that sounds to me like what I always wanted when I was treating my patients," Szegedi said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/does-eating-fat-make-you-fat-2018-4">Why eating fat won't always make you gain weight</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Pharma giants are looking to ketamine for clues to the next blockbuster depression drug - and science says they're onto something big

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Humans have cultivated potatoes since 8,000 B.C.</li><li>Easy to grow in most climates, potatoes have been incorporated into the cusines of many cultures.</li><li>Seaweed shaker fries are sold at McDonalds in Singapore, but they're often made at home, too.</li></ul><p>Humans have been cultivating potatoes for 10,000 years. Beginning in South America in 8000 BC, potatoes have taken root in almost every culture on the planet. A super-versatile vegetable, potatoes can be found in Belgium's salty, crispy fries; Indonesia's sweet and spicy sambal goreng kentang; and Ecuador's fluffy, cheesy llapingacho. Let's take a look at the crunchiest, cheesiest, and most delicious potato recipes from 28 countries around the world. Chorrillana is quintessential pub food: crispy, salty fries topped with sweet caramelized onions, meat like grilled steak, and a perfectly fried egg. Lore has it that fries were invented in Belgium in 1680 when a river froze over, making it impossible to fish, and innovative cooks fried potatoes instead. Today, chip shops in Belgium serve thick-cut fries, crisp and crunchy on the outside, plump and soft on the inside, with a slew of savory sauces. Llapingacho are potato pancakes spiced with onions, cumin, and achiote, which has a peppery flavor and turns the whole dish orange, then stuffed with queso fresco. The pancake is panfried until golden brown with an ultra-crispy exterior and a creamy, smooth interior. Crash hot potatoes are a cross between smashed and loaded potatoes. Whole potatoes are boiled, then smushed until flat, dressed with fresh herbs and grated cheese, then baked until crispy all around. Dum aloo means "steam-cooked potatoes," though the dish is way more complex than that name suggests. An aromatic blend of onions, tomatoes, ginger, chili, coriander, and other herbs and spices are blended with yogurt and left to simmer until it becomes thick and creamy. Potatoes are cooked in the masala to soak up all that flavor. Potato kibbeh can be made a bunch of different ways. It's one of those recipes grandmas love to pass down. But at its heart, potato kibbeh is a mix of mashed potatoes and bulgur wheat filled with ingredients like mincemeat, dried fruit, nuts, and caramelized onions. Potato kibbeh can be layered and baked or rolled into a football shape and deep-fried. Batatas a murro means "punched potatoes," which alludes to the look of this smashed-potato dish. Potatoes are boiled, then lightly smashed and mixed with garlic, herbs, and caramelized onions, then smothered with cheese and baked until bubbling and golden brown. Poutine has been a signature French Canadian dish since the 1950s, and today you can find it at dive bars, fast-food chains, and even fine-dining restaurants. Potatoes are fresh-cut and deep-fried, then topped with brown gravy and melty cheese curds. Kumpir is a super-popular Turkish street food. A baked potato hot out the oven is sliced open and mixed with butter and cheese until the inside is creamy, then topped with things like sliced beets, sausage or bacon, pickled cabbage, or even more cheese. Khabizgina is a delicious, cheesy, stringy pull-apart bread. Mashed potatoes are mixed with cheese and butter and encased in a yeasted dough. After it's baked, the bread is coated with even more butter and served piping hot. Curry potatoes are the perfect, slightly spicy side to grilled poultry, fish, or beef. Potatoes are cooked down with ingredients like tomato paste, cayenne, thyme, coriander, and turmeric, which turns the whole dish a bright yellow. The light and fluffy potatoes are bright and aromatic, with a light kick. It's up for debate whether potato chips were actually invented in the States, but one thing is clear: Americans love chips more than any country in the world. With classic American flavors like barbecue, sour cream and onion, and ranch, there's a chip flavor for every single occasion. Pakora are vegetables or other mains dredged through a batter of gram and rice flour with bold spices like chili, ginger, cardamom, and turmeric, then deep-fried. Aloo, or potato, pakora only takes about 20 minutes to make, which works out, because once you try this deep-fried fritter, you won't be able to stop. Papa rellena translates to "stuffed potato." A potato-based dough is filled with beef, onions, eggs, olives, and some traditional herbs and spices, then rolled into a ball, dredged through flour, and deep-fried. The crisp but light exterior gives way to a savory, meaty stuffing for the perfect portable app. Batata harra literally means "spicy potatoes" in Arabic. Fried or roasted potatoes are tossed in a spicy, tangy marinade of herbs and spices like coriander and turmeric and as much red chili as your taste buds can take. It can be served plain or in a pita with tomatoes, pickles, and fresh parsley. Perkedel are a take on the Dutch meatball, but even better. Ground beef is mashed together with potatoes and shallots, dredged through egg, and deep-fried. These fritters can be found anywhere from street vendors all the way up to fine-dining restaurants. There are countless types of potato salad, from cold and mayo-based to room temperature with vinegar. But in Germany, where it's thought to have been invented, the dish is served warm with potatoes dressed in vinegar, sugar, onion, and fresh herbs for a perfect blend of sour, sweet, and savory. Stamppot is one of the oldest staple dishes in the Netherlands. It's a heavy dish consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with a vegetable, most commonly incorporating kale long before kale was trendy or even bitter endives. It's finished off with crisp, caramelized smoked-sausage slices. Gromperekichelcher are savory potato fritters. Grated yellow potato, shallots, garlic, and fresh parsley are held together with flour and eggs, then rolled into a ball and smashed into a pancake before they're deep-fried. They're often served as a side dish but are perfect as a snack all on their own with a little apple compote. In the Kenyan tribe Kikuyu, irio just means "food" but often refers to this go-to simple yet tasty comfort dish. Corn and peas are mixed into mashed potatoes until they turn green and yellow. The final dish is crispy and slightly sweet and typically served with grilled goat or beef. Pudding and souse is a go-to lunch on Saturday afternoons in Barbados. For the pudding, grated sweet potatoes are mixed with thyme, marjoram, and Scotch bonnets, then steamed until tender and aromatic. It's paired with souse, which are pickled pork trimmings. Hasselback potatoes were invented in Sweden in the 1950s and have since become a staple pub snack around the globe. A potato is sliced thin, almost, but not quite, all the way through, until it looks like an accordion, then doused with butter or olive oil, salt, and pepper and a little garlic and roasted until crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. Gratin Dauphinois is a centuries-old rich and creamy side dish. Thinly sliced potatoes are mixed with heavy cream and spices like nutmeg, then topped with sharp cheese and baked until the potatoes are soft under a blanket of dark brown and crispy burnt cheese. A Spanish omelet, or tortilla Española, isn't the thin, folded egg dish you're likely picturing. Instead, sliced potatoes and a little onion are mixed into whisked eggs, poured into a deep frying pan, and cooked on each side until crispy on the outside and plush on the inside. Served hot or cold, the dish is a favorite for anything from barbecues to picnics. Aloo paratha starts with mashed potatoes that are flavored with spices like ginger, red chili powder, chaat masala, and garam masala for a spicy kick. The potato's encased in whole-wheat dough, then cooked in a tandoori oven until the bread is bubbled and blackened. Despite the name, tattie scones aren't baked goods. Instead, they're a soft and fluffy addition to a full Scottish breakfast. Mashed potatoes are mixed with butter, flour, and a pinch of salt until a thick dough forms, then rolled thin and sliced before the scones are panfried until golden brown and piping hot. Seaweed Shaker Fries are sold at McDonald's in Singapore, but they're often made at home these days too. Matchstick fries are tossed in a sweet and salty coating of chili flakes, sesame seeds, garlic, and nori flakes. Served as a side dish for breakfast or dinner, rösti is so simple almost anyone can make it. Grated potatoes are mixed with a generous helping of butter, then smushed flat into a disc shape. The fritter is baked until crisp on all sides and served with a little more butter and some fresh herbs. So, which potato dish do you want to try? Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

28 Ways Potatoes Are Eaten Around the World

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daiana Lorenz/Youtube</span></p><p class="caption">Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>People with depression, the leading cause of disability worldwide, have been limited to using the same types of drugs for 30 years.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Unsurprisingly, drug companies are on the hunt for new treatments, and a few of their candidates look particularly promising.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>While some scientists pursue <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">new treatments inspired by ketamine</a>, others are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-drugs-from-mdma-mushrooms-ketamine-marijuana-2018-5">looking optimistically at psychedelics</a> like psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms." </strong></li><li><strong>Still others are studying <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/alkermes-stock-price-after-fda-refuse-to-file-letter-2018-4-1020246418">opioid-like drugs</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sage-therapeutics-postpartum-depression-drug-2017-11">metabolites of key hormones</a> involved in mood regulation, such as progesterone.</strong></li></ul><p>Depression is the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/">leading cause of disability worldwide</a>, and <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/">it can kill</a>. While not the sole cause of suicide, depression is often a contributing factor. And while suicide rates have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/suicide-rates-climbing-higher-in-the-us-especially-in-middle-age-2018-6">climbed for nearly 20 years</a>, not a single new drug for depression has emerged.</p><p>Imagine coming to the emergency room "with pain so bad that you can't think," said <a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, and having the doctors give you a drug that takes five weeks to work and has a 40% to 50% chance of not working at all.</p><p>For a person who's suicidal that's "currently the best we can do," Cusin told Business Insider.</p><p>Most treatments for depression and suicidal thinking are limited to a narrow class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs<strong>,</strong> which includes popular drugs like Prozac and Lexapro. While they can help some people, failure rates hover around 50%.</p><p>So researchers are on the hunt for better options.</p><p>While some scientists pursue drugs <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">inspired by ketamine</a>, others are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-drugs-from-mdma-mushrooms-ketamine-marijuana-2018-5">looking hopefully at psychedelics</a> like psilocybin (the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms"). Still others are studying <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/alkermes-stock-price-after-fda-refuse-to-file-letter-2018-4-1020246418">opioid-like drugs</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sage-therapeutics-postpartum-depression-drug-2017-11">metabolites of key hormones</a> involved in mood regulation like progesterone.</p><h2>Ketamine is inspiring novel drugs for some of the hardest-to-treat forms of depression and suicidal thinking</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>perfectlab/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A widely used anesthetic that's also known as a party drug, ketamine, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2">was shown to have benefits as a rapid-fire antidepressant</a> nearly a decade ago. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4424898/">Early studies</a> suggested ketamine could help people who failed to respond to existing medications or were suicidal.</p><p>The authors of one paper called ketamine "<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/68.full">the most important discovery in half a century</a>."</p><p>As opposed to existing antidepressants, ketamine acts on a brain mechanism that scientists have only recently begun to explore. Homing in on this channel appears to provide relief from depression that's better, arrives faster, and works in far more people than current drugs.</p><p>After a lack of new drugs for depression spurred scientists to go back to the drawing board, pharmaceutical companies like Allergan and Johnson &amp; Johnson are now <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4"> in hot pursuit of several new blockbuster depression drugs</a> that take after ketamine.</p><p>Allergan's injectable drug, rapastinel, is in the last phase of clinical trials and has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-2"> received a key FDA designation</a> designed to speed it through the approval process. The company is also working on an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-like-drugs-2018-5">oral-tablet version of rapastinel</a>, but that drug is in an earlier phase of research. Johnson &amp; Johnson presented <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-5"> promising research on its nasal spray drug</a>, esketamine, in May and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/depression-medication-treatment-ketamine-2018-5"> told Business Insider</a> that it expected to file for FDA approval this year. A third company, VistaGen, is studying a drug that's similar in function to Allergan's but in pill formulation. It expects to see results from an earlier phase of research next year.</p><h2>Applying the brakes on the brain could help treat conditions like postpartum depression</h2><p>Sage Therapeutics's treatment, brexanolone<strong>, </strong>acts on GABA, one of the neurotransmitters in the brain. The idea is that by modulating GABA, it may help to treat depression by applying a brake to slow down parts of the brain that could be getting overexcited. To start, Sage is in front of the FDA for approval to treat <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sage-therapeutics-postpartum-depression-drug-2017-11">postpartum depression</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lolostock/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In two late-stage, phase-three clinical trials of more than 200 women, researchers found that women who received the injected therapy had a decrease in depressive symptoms over a 30-day compared to the women who were on the placebo control. The FDA is expected to review the drug by December.</p><p>Beyond that, Sage said on Tuesday that it was launching a phase-three trial evaluating the drug in the treatment of major depressive disorder that it would then bring to the FDA for approval as well.</p><p>Existing drugs "don't do fantastic jobs of treating people who suffer," Al Robichaud, the chief scientific officer of Sage Therapeutics, told Business Insider. "We believe we have the opportunity to it better."</p><h2>The way opioids work in the brain could lead to new treatments for depression</h2><p>At the same time the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cigna-cuts-opioid-prescriptions-by-25-2018-3">opioid crisis</a> has been raging in the US, researchers have been looking into whether aspects of the medications could be useful in treating depression. That's the case with a compound from Alkermes, known as ALKS 5461. The drug is being developed to treat major depressive disorder by modulating the opioid system in the brain by combining buprenorphine - a drug often used to treat pain as well as opioid addiction - and samidorphan.</p><p>Unlike a traditional opioid, however, the drug doesn't produce a feeling of euphoria when taken, Alkermes CEO Richard Pops said. "If you're addicted to opioids and you take 5461, you'll go into withdrawal because it's functionally different," he said.</p><p>The drug is in front of the FDA for review, with a decision expected by January.</p><h2>A compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms shows promise for depression that develops later in life</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Last year, researchers studying psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, likened its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/psychedelics-depression-anxiety-alcoholism-mental-illness-2017-1">quick effects on cancer patients with anxiety and depression</a> to a "surgical intervention" for the mental illness.</p><p>Brain-scan studies suggest that depression ramps up the activity in brain circuits linked with negative emotions and weakens the activity in circuits linked with positive ones. Psilocybin <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/psychedelics-depression-anxiety-alcoholism-mental-illness-2017-1">appears to restore balance</a> to that system.</p><p>With that in mind, a company called Compass Pathways, which is backed by influential entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-magic-mushrooms-psychedelics-depression-science-2017-12">plans to start its own clinical trials of mushrooms for depression</a> later this year.</p><p>That said, no one has yet presented clinical-trial data for a drug formula using psilocybin to the FDA; the compound is still a Schedule 1 substance with "no recognized medical use," according to the Drug Enforcement Administration - a designation that continues to make it difficult to study. That means an FDA-approved psilocybin drug is years away, at best.</p><p>But some researchers still have high hopes that a psilocybin-inspired drug will be approved within a decade. <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/d.nutt">David Nutt</a>, director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/when-psychedelics-approved-for-mental-illness-depression-2017-1">told Business Insider last year</a> that he believed psilocybin would become an "accepted treatment" for depression before 2027.</p><p><em>If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">get help</a>. The <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> (1-800-273-8255) provides free, 24/7, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.</em></p>

A crop of new depression treatments could yield the first new blockbuster drug in 30 years

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/buenosaurus/3670109860/in/photolist-6AjgNd-iSF3fH-4yPMCs-oW74pN-i5Pvme-n3Un1i-9KRUw8-bbFu5e-iskfWt-oagFho-4EedX-k5tr2B-DoqdK-pBMZpM-538EWQ-7Dzqaj-4mXTjC-eDiz-rDRJRh-6NvBhy-9uTea-4TMgrX-abuHTQ-mKZGRa-9aNBn9-fRW4aY-7VS1dL-91kBPJ-rMiCS7-9VKNgz-8oF32k-82thNJ-e7npo8-6wydL-e4C8TE-dBMbQR-aAgeLT-owQrxr-hLXJ2X-6nhJqF-et4Bh9-pzuUtQ-fKpT2p-4253d-bukBm-b1adyc-HQYvsG-aKFCDB-9dUQLv-9EWiK3">Flickr/Jane Rahman</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Several companies make DNA tests that claim to tell you how well you'll respond to certain antidepressants based on your genetic profile.</strong></li><li><strong>Two personalized medicine companies - Assurex and Genomind - offer some of the most popular tests and work with physicians and pharmacists to provide them to patients.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>A chain of Albertsons pharmacies in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boise is running a pilot program in which pharmacists can offer the Genomind test.</strong></li><li><strong>Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> recently began offering a similar test as part of its services.</strong></li><li><strong>The costs of the tests range from $250 to $750, but some scientists say it's not worth the money. </strong></li></ul><p>Around the time that 26-year-old Courtney Luk got in line at the pharmacy to pick up her 25th depression medication, she decided she'd had enough.</p><p>Over the previous two years, Luk had been prescribed everything from Klonopin to Xanax to treat the anxiety and depression she'd experienced since adolescence. Nothing seemed to do the trick. One medication would make her feel numb; others seemed to make her symptoms worse.</p><p>Then a psychiatrist suggested she try a genetic test that could provide guidance about which drug Luk should try next. They swabbed the inside of Luk's cheek for a spit sample and sent it off to get tested.</p><p>Using DNA testing to determine how well a given depression medication will work with a patient's genetic makeup is becoming a popular approach. More than 750,000 people have taken one such test, called GeneSight, which is made by personalized medicine company Assurex, according to its website. A network of 28 Albertsons pharmacies offers a similar test made by a company called Genomind as part of a pilot program. And just last month, Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> began offering a test as part of its $250 kits.</p><p>But some scientists say the tests have limited utility.</p><p>That's because they doesn't tell providers which specific medication is best to prescribe patients, according to Alan Schatzberg, a Stanford University psychiatrist. And Cristina Cusin, a Harvard psychiatrist, said the test won't give helpful results to patients who take more than one medication.</p><p>Plus, the tests may give conflicting results to the same patient for the same medication, according to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41397-018-0027-3#Ack1">peer-reviewed analysis</a> of four different gene tests published this summer.</p><h2>A pricey test with a lofty goal</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/William Thomas Cain</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Since adolescence, Luk had experienced debilitating anxiety that sometimes turned into panic attacks, along with mood swings and depression that sometimes led her to contemplate taking her own life. Despite trying more than two dozen different medications, Luk and her psychiatrists had yet to come up with a combination of drugs that significantly lifted her mood without contributing to her anxiety.</p><p>Luk had heard of genetics tests for antidepressants before, but previously declined to take one since she couldn't afford the $750 price tag.</p><p>But when a psychiatrist suggested a test she could get for free through insurance, a kit from Genomind called the Genecept Assay, Luk said yes. The test appealed to her as a potential way to eliminate the trial-and-error process of starting a new drug and waiting - sometimes up to six weeks, the standard for most antidepressants - to see if it worked.</p><p>"I don't feel like my medications right now are working optimally, and I was hoping to learn if there's a cocktail of medications that would do that," Luk said.</p><p>Her psychiatrist told her the test might show them what to do next. Perhaps they'd learn that one medication wasn't right for her body and could be replaced with a different drug. But when the results came in, they were murkier than Luk anticipated.</p><p>Her report listed all the antidepressants she'd taken along with several she'd yet to try. Each got a colored check mark: red checks suggested Luk would likely have negative reactions to a drug, green checks suggested no negative reactions, and orange checks indicated something in between.</p><p>Next to a popular antidepressant called Celexa, for example, Luk's test showed an orange check mark and said, "increased risk for adverse events or poor response." That meant that because of the way her body processed the drug, Luk was more likely than the average person to experience negative side effects or see no positive results.</p><p>Sure enough, Luk recalled that when she'd taken Celexa several years earlier, she had experienced painful bruising across her arms and legs.</p><p>But another drug Luk had recently begun taking, called Topamax, carried a green check and said "use as directed - no known gene-drug interactions." Despite taking that medication for several weeks, however, Luk said she hadn't experienced any change in her symptoms.</p><p>So she went back to trial and error.</p><p>Daniel Dowd, Genomind's vice president of medical affairs, acknowledged that some patients may read too much into the test.</p><p>"I think patients do tend to think, 'OK, this is going say exactly what this specific drug is going to do for me,' and that's not what this test is," Dowd told Business Insider. "Like any other branch of medicine, [the test] provides an estimation of risk."</p><p>Genomind funded a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22742">2018 study of its test</a> that analyzed patient spending in the six-month period following use of the test. The authors - one of whom sits on Genomind's scientific advisory board - compared roughly 800 people with mood and anxiety disorders who took the test with nearly 3,000 people who didn't take it. They found that people who took the test spent nearly $2,000 less on healthcare on average, mostly because they visited ERs and hospitals less frequently in the months following the test than people who didn't take it.</p><p>The researchers wrote that it could represent "a promising strategy to reduce costs" in people with depression and anxiety.  </p><p>To Dowd, the finding was a big endorsement of the test.</p><p>"If we can get this test embedded in the healthcare record, that could mean a big cost savings," he said.</p><h2>Who the test may - and may not - help</h2><p>Once you swallow a pill, various genes control how your body will break it down. One gene in particular, called CYP2D6, is one of the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">most closely studied</a>. Some people have faulty or abnormal copies of that gene, meaning they don't process drugs like antidepressants as they should. That increases the chances that someone could have an adverse reaction like bruising or not respond to a medication at all.</p><p>The gene tests are designed to assess whether a patient is likely to have a negative outcome on any common antidepressants. In theory, that would help patients and their providers narrow down the list of potential medications to try.</p><p>"In these cases, I think there is clear evidence" for using a gene test, Michelle Whirl-Carrillo, a senior research scientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">told the author of an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)</a>. </p><p>But Schatzberg, the Stanford psychiatrist, said a narrower list is not what his patients need.</p><p>"What's really needed is a test that says, 'You have this profile, these are the two drugs you need to use.' That's what's missing," he said.</p><p>Instead, the tests merely tell him if someone's body doesn't process a drug properly - a conclusion they'd reach anyway after trial and error.</p><p>"I don't need to know if a person is a poor drug metabolizer. I need to know what drug to use where I'm going to get the positive effect," Schatzberg said. "These tests don't do that."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>perfectlab/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Cusin, the Harvard psychiatrist, specializes in treating people with severe depression. She agreed with Schatzberg.</p><p>"I don't think psychiatrists get much information about the costs and benefits or much predictive value for this type of test," she said.</p><p>Cusin added that she doesn't think the test helps in cases where people are taking multiple medications or when patients have a history of failing to respond to medications. Plus, she said, a recent study made her hesitant to use the tests in her own practice.</p><p>That <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41397-018-0027-3">study</a> found major inconsistencies among four different gene tests (including Genomind's). In roughly one out of five cases, the authors said, different tests gave conflicting advice to the same patient.</p><p>"The level of disagreement in medication recommendations … indicates that these tests cannot be assumed to be equivalent or interchangeable," the researchers wrote.</p><h2>'I jumped on it because I was tired of trial and error'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>iviewfinder/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Unlike Luk, Allyson Byers, a 27-year-old in Los Angeles, said taking a genetic test saved her time in the quest to find the right medication.</p><p>Byers took Assurex's GeneSight test after trying several drugs for her depression. </p><p>"I jumped on it because I was tired of trial and error," she told Business Insider.</p><p>Byers said she paid $60 for the test after talking with her therapist and an Assurex representative (though she initially received a bill for several hundred dollars).</p><p>Her results weren't perfect. Byers had been taking the antidepressant Zoloft for nine months, but she experienced several negative side effects, including weight gain. On the Assurex test, however, Zoloft was green-lit.</p><p>"When the results came back, I was questioning myself and thinking, 'Did I make that all up? Did I really gain weight?'"</p><p>But the test also suggested another medication called Pristiq that Byers had not previously taken, she said. So Byers' therapist suggested they try that instead of Zoloft. Several weeks later, Byers said she felt better - and thanked the test for helping her find a different medication.</p><p>"I've had to go up in dose a couple times, but I feel like I've finally found the right dose," she said. For her, the test was "just another tool to help narrow things down."</p><h2>Coming to a pharmacy near you?</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Paul Sakuma</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Increasingly, some patients are learning about genetics tests for antidepressants from their pharmacist instead of a psychiatrist.</p><p>In Chicago, Boise, and Philadelphia, 28 Albertsons drug stores are offering the Genomind test, according to Kimberly Hecht, a patient care services coordinator with Albertsons who leads the project.</p><p>She told Business Insider that <span>mental health became a focus at the pharmacies she oversees</span> when they began offering medications for drug addiction. Plus, because Albertsons' pharmacies are open longer and on more days of the week than others nearby, they sometimes function as a default mental health provider, Hecht said.</p><p>"It just made sense with what we were offering and also because of our position in the community," Jennifer Rapley, a marketing manager with Albertsons who works closely with Hecht, told Business Insider.</p><p>The project is currently in a pilot phase, but Genomind hopes to eventually offer its gene test in all 1,760 Albertsons-owned pharmacies throughout the country, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">JAMA reported this month</a>.</p><p>But some components of the Albertsons program - such as how pharmacists determine whether a patient is a good candidate for the test and how it evaluates whether the results are effective - remain hazy.</p><p>For example, a patient does not have to have a history of using antidepressants to be offered the test, Hecht said.</p><p>"Typically it's going to be patients who've tried a couple different things and it's not working, but we kind of leave it up to our pharmacists' professional judgment," she said.</p><p>That makes Schatzberg wary. </p><p>"I think it presents real problems," he said. "It's practicing a level of medicine and offering a test where it's not clear whether and how it should be used. It's hard for me to believe that's a good idea."</p><h2>The future of genetic testing for depression</h2><p>Last month, Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> began offering a test for antidepressants as a component of its DNA tests<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5"></a>, which screen for gene variations linked to cancer and heart disease. Color's service includes a professional genetics counselor who walks a patient through their results.</p><p>Othman Laraki, the company's founder and CEO, told Business Insider that he sees the new test in a similar light to Color's cancer test, which the company began offering in 2013.</p><p>"Like we saw with cancer, it's definitely a moving target, it's definitely still early, and there's still a lot of uncertainty," Laraki said. "But there's enough support and enough scientific validity where it makes us feel comfortable enough to offer it."</p><p>Hecht, the Albertsons coordinator, agreed.</p><p>"These types of tests really are the future and have the potential to really help people," she said.</p><p>But for some patients, that future may not have arrived yet.</p><p>"After 25 different drugs, I may just be one of those people whose bodies doesn't respond to medication," Luk said. "In the end, it's still trial and error, but it's a little bit more of a targeted trial and error - a little bit more of an educated guess."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-new-way-fight-depression-study-sadness-happiness-2016-6">Scientists say combining these 2 activities could be an effective way to fight depression</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A DNA test claims to tell you how you'll respond to depression medications. Here's what scientists think of it.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Genetics testing company 23andMe recently launched a feature that allows customers to share information about what treatments for 18 conditions - including depression and ADHD - do and don't work for them.</strong></li><li><strong>Outside experts call the feature "concerning" and say it could mislead people or discourage them from getting the proper treatment.</strong></li><li><strong>The feature currently has more than 5,000 users, 23andMe says.</strong></li></ul><p><br />In a move that psychologists and psychiatrists are calling "concerning," popular genetics company 23andMe launched an initiative earlier this month allowing customers to share tips about which treatments for conditions including ADHD and depression do or don't work for them.</p><p>Since rolling out the feature, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/health-conditions-and-the-wisdom-of-the-crowd/">called "Condition Pages,"</a> last week, 23andMe says it has attracted more than 5,000 customers who've contributed over 30,000 submissions on the conditions.</p><p>But experts warn that some aspects of the crowdsourcing initiative could be dangerously misleading and even discourage people from getting treatments that are recommended to them by physicians.</p><p>Although the pages are similar to what someone might find on Google or Reddit (in the sense that anyone can comment on them and share information), experts warn that they might carry a feeling of authority that could encourage some customers to believe that the content has been vetted by a scientist, physician, or researcher.</p><p>"There's a worry with having that authority label," <a href="http://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/nancy-liu">Nancy Liu</a>, an assistant clinical professor of clinical psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, told Business Insider.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/health-conditions-and-the-wisdom-of-the-crowd/">23andMe</a></span></p><p class="caption">A screenshot from 23andMe's condition page for depression.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Say a customer named Susie read on 23andMe's condition pages that another customer named Brian tried cognitive behavioral therapy for his depression, and it didn't work for him. Then say Susie stopped going to therapy.</p><p>That would be deeply concerning, Liu said.</p><p>"Disorders aren't like that. What works for one person doesn't always work for another."</p><p><a href="http://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, agreed. She is worried that customers may treat the condition pages similar to the way they'd treat a medical consultation with a physician, despite a disclaimer at the bottom which reads, "Keep in mind that this content is preliminary and meant for informational purposes only."</p><p>There are other problems with the new feature as well, experts say.</p><p>One of them is what Liu calls selection bias. Essentially, "you self-select individuals who are engaging in this dialogue, which skews the type of information you receive, but it's somehow viewed to represent all of individuals with a particular condition."</p><p>Customers might assume that 23andMe's pages provide provide a comprehensive look at everyone with depression or ADHD, when in reality, they only represent people with the condition who <em>also</em> had the time and interest to get online and discuss their condition with others.</p><p>Another issue is that the feature bundles all people with a condition like depression under the same label. The true nature of depression is much more complex than that, Liu said.</p><p>That recognition is vital to ensuring that people with a wide range of iterations of the disorder get the individualized treatment that works for them - whether it's antidepressants, individual therapy, group therapy, or a combination of all three.</p><p>"One of the things we know about antidepressants is that how well they work depends on the type of depression someone has and on the severity of that depression. With something like this, that kind of fine-grained detail gets lost," Liu said.</p><p>The "treatments" currently shown on the conditions pages are nowhere near exhaustive. Not all of them are necessarily considered treatments in and of themselves. While exercising and having a pet, for example, are near the top of 23andMe's list of beneficial treatments, a tool like cognitive behavioral therapy, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29699700">one of the best studied and most helpful treatments for depression</a>, is not on the list at all.</p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-inchauspe-62b76533/">Jesse <span style="font-weight: 400;">Inchauspe</span></a>, the product lead for 23andMe's condition pages, told Business Insider that the thinking behind the project was that the company had useful information besides just genetics information to share with customers.</p><p>She said the company chose the 18 conditions that are currently listed, which include depression, ADHD, asthma, and high blood pressure, based on their commonality among 23andMe customers. The company did not consult with medical experts prior to rolling out the platform, Inchauspe said.</p><p>While the feature is currently only available to 50% of customers, the other half will have access to it this week, she said. Based on customer enthusiasm, she said that 23andMe plans to add more conditions in the near future.</p><p>"It's always been our mission to give people access to as much information as possible," Inchauspe said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-over-exercise-does-body-brain-health-2018-4">What too much exercise does to your body and brain</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Genetics company 23andMe is rolling out a huge initiative for people with ADHD and depression - but psychologists are worried

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">Sage's new antidepressant is being called a "blockbuster" depression drug for good reason: It's the first federally-approved drug to significantly differ from nearly a half century's worth of antidepressants.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>On Monday, a new drug for depression got a big lift from positive clinical trial results.</li><li>The drug is made by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sage-depression-drug-problem-2018-6">Sage Therapeutics</a>, a Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on brain disorders.</li><li>Nearly all existing antidepressants, from Celexa to Zoloft, work on the brain's serotonin network. But the drugs <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">fail for as many as 1 in 3 people</a> and take 4-6 weeks to have an effect.</li><li>Sage's new drug targets a different brain system than these antidepressants. As a result, it appears to work faster and last longer.</li></ul><p>A drug that works differently than all existing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">antidepressants</a> just got a big boost. </p><p>In results from its latest clinical trial on Monday, the drug, called Sage 217, appeared to relieve symptoms of post-partum depression in a sample of roughly 150 women. Made by pharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics, the new drug candidate acts on the brain's gaba system, in stark contrast to all current medications for depression. Those drugs are called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and effect the brain's serotonin network.</p><p>Some early research suggests it may even be possible for patients to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sage-depression-drug-problem-2018-6">go several weeks without</a> taking the drug - as opposed to being tied to a daily pill. And analysts say the results suggest the drug would also be a good candidate for people with regular depression, also known as major depressive disorder, as well as those with post-partum depression or PPD.</p><p>Experts who study depression told Business Insider they'd been cheered by earlier study results on the drug, which suggested it could offer patients relief in a different way from current treatments.</p><p><em><strong>Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-healthcare-conference-topics-january-7-2019-1">The biggest healthcare investor conference starts on Monday - here are the top 5 areas we're keeping an eye on</a></strong></em></p><p>The latest results bolster that analysis, they say, making the new drug potentially appealing for many patients.</p><p>However, although the drug appears to be a big innovation in several ways, those experts say it's worth noting that it would likely not work as a sort of one-and-done treatment in the way Sage CEO Jeff Jonas <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sage-depression-drug-problem-2018-6">described over the summer</a>. </p><h2>Why Sage's new drug could be a game changer for people with depression</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daiana Lorenz/Youtube</span></p><p class="caption">Sage-217 may not require patients to take the drug daily as they would with current antidepressants.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Analysts, scientists, and clinicians agree that Sage's new drug could be a game-changer for the millions of people who live with depression and don't get results with current treatments.</p><p>For its latest <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190107005377/en/Sage-Therapeutics-Announces-SAGE-217-Meets-Primary-Secondary">study</a>, researchers concluded that Sage-217 worked fast and well, noting that most patients observed a relief in symptoms as early as three days into the treatment. Those results were maintained for at least a month.</p><p>"In our view, these data not only provide a more commercially viable product for post-partum depression, but should also further increase investor confidence in the ongoing Phase 3 trial in the broader population of patients [with major depression]," JPMorgan analyst Cory Kasimov wrote in a note</p><p>A drug that works fast and lasts is something that most patients with depression have never seen. For all of the hope that drugs like Celexa and Prozac have inspired, they <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/drugs-for-depression-ketamine-2018-4">don't work</a> for as many as one in every three patients. </p><p>In addition, the drugs - which target the brain's serotonin system and are thus known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) - take roughly 4-6 weeks to work.</p><p>That's not quick enough for patients with severe depression and suicidal thoughts, according to <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=18473">Cristina Cusin</a>, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University who specializes in severe depression. </p><p>By contrast, Sage's drug appears to take an effect as quickly as two weeks into treatment - not as fast as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-for-depression-medical-centers-where-get-infusions-2018-11">rapid-fire anesthetic drug ketamine</a>, but significantly quicker than all existing approved antidepressants.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ketamine-for-depression-medical-centers-where-get-infusions-2018-11">A 'party drug' with potential to be the next blockbuster antidepressant is edging closer to the mainstream, but it could set you back $9,000</a></em></p><p>Wall Street analysts say they see a huge market potential for the new drug.</p><h2>Latest results are 'a best case scenario' for the new drug</h2><p>The results the company released this morning "represent essentially a best case scenario," for the drug, wrote JPMorgans' Kasimov.</p><p>Others agreed.</p><p>"The possibility of having something that impacts the Gaba system is attractive because if you were to launch it tomorrow, there's likely going to be lots of patients who've failed with anything that's available," <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-matteis-91277724/">Paul Matteis</a>, the managing director of biotech research with brokerage firm Stifel, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-promising-new-depression-drugs-treatments-predictions-2019-2018-12">told Business Insider</a> in December.</p><p>Plus, the drug may not require patients to take it daily, at least according to both the latest study and a series of preliminary results from the company's clinical trials.</p><p>That's something that Matteis said sounds like it would be "preferred by most patients than having to take something indefinitely."</p><p>That optimism is what Sage CEO Jonas was likely alluding to when he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sage-depression-drug-problem-2018-6">made his comments</a> about Sage-217 over the summer, Matteis said. </p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sage-depression-drug-problem-2018-6">In June</a>, Jonas said Sage-217 had the potential for patients with depression "to feel well within days, with just a two week course of treatment - similar to how antibiotics are used today."</p><p>Shortly after he made that statement, the company's stock surged.</p><p>Yet instead of taking the drug only once, most experts say patients would likely need to take it "episodically" - meaning as frequently as once a month. That's still a big change from the way current antidepressants are administered, and could be a significant boost for patients, said Matteis.</p><p>"Any paradigm-shifting drug is going to have some nuances that, I don't wanna say are scary, but are counterintuitive to the current therapy model."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sleep-expert-explains-snooze-alarms-are-terrible-2017-11">The worst thing people do to wake up in the morning, according to a sleep scientist</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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