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One study found that laughing gas may provide a fast-acting treatment for depression.
Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gasis a colorless gas that is usually inhaled Used as a pain reliever.
The gas, which is banned for recreational use in 2023, can make people feel light-headed, dizzy and relaxed – but can use heavy This causes vitamin B12 deficiency, which can damage the nerves in the spinal cord.
But the drug, which is still legal for medical use, has been shown to be able to provide fast-acting relief of depressive symptoms for adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
Researchers say this may be especially beneficial for the 48 percent of patients who do not respond to first-line antidepressant drugs.
“Depression is a debilitating disease, which is made even more so by the fact that antidepressant drugs make no meaningful difference to about half of patients diagnosed with it,” said Kiranpreet Gill, first author of the study and a Medical Research Council-funded PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham.
“Our analysis suggests that nitrous oxide could become part of a new generation of fast-acting treatments for depression.”
For the study published in the journal EbiomedicineResearchers from the University of Birmingham, the University of Oxford and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust evaluated seven clinical trials and four protocol papers published by investigators around the world.
Each research study looked at the use of nitrous oxide to treat depressive disorders, including MDD, TRD, and bipolar depression.
The researchers found that a single treatment of inhaled clinical nitrous oxide at a 50 percent concentration led to a rapid and significant reduction in depressive symptoms within 24 hours. But this effect did not last for more than a week.
However, when the doses were spread out over several weeks, the effects lasted longer.
The drug is believed to target glutamate receptors, which are important for learning and memory, similar to ketamine – another fast-acting antidepressant. The study authors say this may explain why mood improvements can be seen immediately after inhalation.
David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, who believes the ban on nitrous oxide was political, has written about the clinical value of the drug.
he told Independent: “It is called laughing gas because it takes away the natural stress and anxiety that we all have in our minds, so it allows people to instantly relax and become happy.
“This alters brain blood flow and possibly disrupts the brain circuits of depression.”
In the study, researchers examined the safety and potential side effects of nitrous oxide. Some patients experienced side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and headache, which resolved quickly without medical intervention.
Although higher doses at the 50 percent concentration increased the likelihood of these side effects, researchers had no short-term safety concerns.
But the researchers stressed that long-term safety should be assessed through future studies.
Steven Marwaha, Professor at the University of Birmingham and senior author of the study, said: “This is an important milestone in understanding the potential of nitrous oxide as an additional treatment option for depressed patients who have failed current treatments. This population has often lost hope of recovery, making the results of this study particularly exciting.”