It’s a scientific discovery so obvious it’ll make you wonder why we didn’t just assume it the whole time.
A new review from researchers at the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford says that laughing gas, a.k.a. nitrous oxide, can offer quick and substantive relief for people with major depressive disorder. This is especially true for those who still suffer despite having tried every chemical and nonchemical remedy under the sun.
The team, to publish their findings in eBioMedicine, gathered together seven clinical trials totaling 247 participants, plus a handful of plans from upcoming studies. Volunteers inhaled either 25 percent or 50 percent nitrous oxide, while control groups breathed in placebos. Unsurprisingly, the beefier 50 percent dose worked better.
However, it also brought along a nasty set of side effects like nausea, headaches, and a weird out-of-body sensation that participants found uncomfortable. Side effects aside, depressive symptoms were gone within two hours. And while they didn’t stick around, it wasn’t for too long.
Laughing Gas Shows Real Promise As Treatment For Severe Depression
Relief typically faded within a week unless the treatments continued. But the real focus here is the speed at which it made a massive difference in the lives of study participants. That puts it in the same conversation as ketamine, another fast-acting depression fighter that can lead to several adverse effects if overused.
As for why it works, the leading theory proposed by the researchers is that next oxide turns down the volume on the brain’s glutamatergic system, which is the neural communication network that has long been identified as playing a key role in depression.
Some side benefits likely play a role, like how nitrous oxide increases blood flow, which could boost the brain’s nutrient cycling and help clear out some of the junk chemicals lingering there. It’s essentially giving your brain a good old-fashioned power wash and detailed scrub.
The researchers are, of course, exercising caution, reminding us that we are still in the very early stages of understanding nitrous oxide’s effect on depression. A lot more research is needed before therapists can start recommending laughing gas dosages to the most severe depression sufferers.
The post Could Your Depression Be Cured With Laughing Gas? appeared first on VICE.
