18:23 EST, 9 June 2014
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18:23 EST, 9 June 2014
Mixing the gas with oxygen can ease the symptoms of depression within hours or minutes
Laughing
gas is used to relieve the pain of childbirth – but could it be the
answer to depression, too? That’s the suggestion behind a study testing
the use of nitrous oxide – known as laughing gas – for low mood.
Previous
research has shown mixing the gas with oxygen can ease the symptoms of
depression within hours or even minutes; antidepressants can take weeks.
It’s thought the gas blocks a brain chemical that could play a key
role in the problem. Now this is being tested in a clinical trial.
The
standard treatment for depression is antidepressants, particularly
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These are said to work
by increasing levels of the brain chemical serotonin, boosting mood.
But
they do not help everyone and some research has suggested that for mild
to moderate depression they work no better than a placebo. Even when
antidepressants do work, they can take weeks to have an effect.
However,
U.S. research suggests the brain chemical glutamate – involved in
memory, learning and cognition – may be involved in depression.
Glutamate
is a neurotransmitter – a chemical that passes messages from one nerve
cell to another. It locks on to a receptor in the brain. Depression has
been linked to glutamate’s chronic overstimulation of this receptor
(known as NMDA).
Nitrous oxide – a weak anaesthetic used in dentistry and childbirth – is thought to block these receptors.
In
a trial at Washington State University, patients will breathe in a
mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, or a placebo, for one hour. The
severity of their depression will be assessed 30 minutes and two hours
after each treatment.
Previous research has shown that drugs which
block NMDA can have a powerful effect on symptoms of severe depression. A
study of 22 patients given the drug ASD6765 intravenously showed 32 per
cent had improvements within 80 minutes.
Researchers believe that
nitrous oxide may have similar benefits to such drugs, but with fewer
side-effects and without the need for intravenous infusion.
‘We have
to find new treatments as some patients are not helped by the available
antidepressants,’ says Carmine Pariante, professor of biological
psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. ‘We
believe that blocking NMDA receptors has antidepressant effects because
it increases the birth of new neurons, or brain cells, in the brain.
Depression is considered to be in part the consequence of a reduction in
new neurons.
‘Nitrous oxide has a lot of effects on the brain: it
has a calming effect, reduces pain and creates euphoria. These effects
are likely due to the interaction with biological systems beside the
NMDA receptor. So, it may be difficult to disentangle what is the effect
for the antidepressant action.’
The gas could block a brain chemical that could play a key role in the problem
? Meanwhile, scientists say antidepressants could be a treatment for prostate cancer.
An
international team has discovered that an enzyme in the brain, linked
to depression, may also encourage the development of prostate tumours.
The
enzyme monamine oxidase A (MAO-A) interferes with chemical signals in
the brain; one theory is that depression may be linked to high levels of
the enzyme and some antidepressants work by blocking its activity.
Previous research has found men with prostate cancer have high levels of
the enzyme.
The study, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation,
found MAO-A encouraged prostate cancer to grow in mice, making tumours
stronger and more invasive. But when the enzyme was supressed, this
effect could be reduced or even reversed.
The researchers said:
‘Suppressing this enzyme combined with current therapies may provide a
better way to manage and cure men with prostate cancer.’
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