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Saturday, May 03, 2008

Interesting Tidbit...


I was looking through the Reuters News site, and found something I thought was interesting.

The Nite Club Drug 'Special K' is being tested and used in the treatment of depression.
It said that Prozac and other anti-depressants can take up to 30 days in order for one to feel their full effects and they often don't work.

'Special K' and Prozac work on two completely different areas of the brain. Researchers hooked up a couple of dozen not depressed people to a machine that reads brain activity every few seconds and they were busy watching the area of the brain that Prozac and all of the other popular anti-depressants work, when it was noticed that as the 'Special K' was being absorbed the frontal lobe of the brain was being affected.

The frontal lobe scientists say works on our reactions to to trauma, and helps us gauge appropriate responses. Research has shown that 'Special K' can treat depression in as quick as 24 hours where Prozac will take 30. This is very exciting to researchers because now they can work on drugs that affect this area of the brain and offers hope to millions who suffer from this horrible disease.

Apparently, 'Special K' just shuts off the depression center of the brain. How perfect is that?
The orbifrontal cortex is apparently too active in depressed people . This area is right over the eyes and researchers believe it to be responsible for feelings of dread, apprehension, guilt, and shame even physical reactions such a heart palpitations that are often diagnosed as panic attacks.

Who would have thought that these designer nite club drugs would be of any real benefit. The researchers interviewed in the article were quite excited that there now seems to be real hope in the fight to treating a disease that up until now were only able to maintain a minimal level of maintenance. Check out the whole article on http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0284213220080502?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

just so everyone knows, "Special K" also known as Ketamine, was first developed as an ANIMAL tranquilizer.

Wymzie said...

Really? Didn't know that.
It's amazing the things that they set out to cure and what they end up being able to treat purely due to a mistake.

Chimera said...

That is great news-if trials are successful.Current anti-depressants in the SSRI class (Prozac for example)are very effective in treating depression for some people, but the side effects are troublesome. They kill your libido and cause some stomach upset.And you cannot drink alcohol or take some OTC meds when taking them.Its good to see research paying off.

Anonymous said...

Where can I get an 8 Ball?

Anonymous said...

Ketamine was produced as a "dissociative" anesthetic and intended to be used in OPERATING ROOMS only for certain procedures. It's best effect was that protective reflexes remained in tact and therefore was a good choice for certain emergency operations. It didn't become a street drug until it was released into Dr.'s offices, including vets.
It was intended for use in the O.R. and SHOULD have remained in the O.R.'s "lock box" where it belongs... not on the street.

Anonymous said...

Sigmund Freud explained that cocaine works very well also. His primary complaint about the drug was that it became too expensive.

BossHogg said...

The kids just need to c'mon down to P-City for some refreshing crack cocaine served up 24-hours a day at our city council sponsored open air drug market on Fourth Street.

The preachers kis may get arrested to using the skatepark after hours.

But the crack is cheap and easy...

Just like many of the women...

It's Pocomoke

Anonymous said...

If I am not mistaken, the frontal lobe is also tied to ADD and ADHD. And maybe OCD. It would be great if this drug worked on those also.

Wymzie said...

Maybe we could give it to Boss Hogg