Is Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) an Antidepressant?

[Neuropharmacist]

Nitrous oxide (N2O), or laughing gas, is a gaseous anesthetic commonly used in dentistry and patient sedation. Similar to the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine, nitrous oxide also blocks NMDA receptors. Since a pilot study demonstrating the rapid antidepressant effects of N2O was published in 2015, I've been invested in studying the molecular mechanisms of nitrous oxide in the context of depression. Just a few weeks ago, another clinical trial came out, essentially supporting the previous findings.

Here's my take on this recent study:



Further reading:

A phase 2 trial of inhaled nitrous oxide for treatment-resistant major depression
Peter Nagele, Ben J Palanca, Britt Gott, Frank Brown, Linda Barnes, Thomas Nguyen, Willa Xiong, Naji C Salloum, Gemma D Espejo, Christina N Lessov-Schlaggar, Nisha Jain, Wayland W L Cheng, Helga Komen, Branden Yee, Jacob D Bolzenius, Alvin Janski, Robert Gibbons, Charles F Zorumski, Charles R Conway
PMID: 34108247 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abe1376

Nitrous Oxide for Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Proof-of-Concept Trial
Peter Nagele, Andreas Duma, Michael Kopec, Marie Anne Gebara, Alireza Parsoei, Marie Walker, Alvin Janski, Vassilis N Panagopoulos, Pilar Cristancho, J Philip Miller, Charles F Zorumski, Charles R Conway
PMID: 25577164 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.11.016

 

[bluelines__]

studies have shown the dumber you are the happier you are, so i’d reckon it can be classified as such.

 

[JackARoe]

I always find it comical that a lot of the drugs we do recreationally to feel better end up in the news as possible new antidepressant. LOL Reminds me of prescribing speed for concentration. I mean college kids in the 50's could have told you amphetamine helps them study. Yet it is a medical breakthrough 40 years later.

Yeah we use drugs to gain insight, open our minds and to flat out just feel good. But none of them in my opinion, including psilocybin, LSD or ketamine produce anything but a long afterglow. Any depression will come back in a few days. I think we all know there is no magic bullet. Life is depressing. No pill is going to make that different.

 

[plumbus-nine]

studies have shown the dumber you are the happier you are, so i’d reckon it can be classified as such.

There's some truth in this. Scopolamine, with memory inhibition being a major activity, shows rapid and robust antidepressant potential in those poor rodents.

Maybe one strong nitrous experience can make up for several low-dose ketamine ones, dunno. I'd say the odds are against nitrous, too short acting, but then again maybe just a serious shock pushes you out of depression for awhile.

 

[thegreenhand]

Nitrous oxide (N2O), or laughing gas, is a gaseous anesthetic commonly used in dentistry and patient sedation. Similar to the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine, nitrous oxide also blocks NMDA receptors. Since a pilot study demonstrating the rapid antidepressant effects of N2O was published in 2015, I've been invested in studying the molecular mechanisms of nitrous oxide in the context of depression. Just a few weeks ago, another clinical trial came out, essentially supporting the previous findings.

Here's my take on this recent study:



Further reading:

A phase 2 trial of inhaled nitrous oxide for treatment-resistant major depression
Peter Nagele, Ben J Palanca, Britt Gott, Frank Brown, Linda Barnes, Thomas Nguyen, Willa Xiong, Naji C Salloum, Gemma D Espejo, Christina N Lessov-Schlaggar, Nisha Jain, Wayland W L Cheng, Helga Komen, Branden Yee, Jacob D Bolzenius, Alvin Janski, Robert Gibbons, Charles F Zorumski, Charles R Conway
PMID: 34108247 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abe1376

Nitrous Oxide for Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Proof-of-Concept Trial
Peter Nagele, Andreas Duma, Michael Kopec, Marie Anne Gebara, Alireza Parsoei, Marie Walker, Alvin Janski, Vassilis N Panagopoulos, Pilar Cristancho, J Philip Miller, Charles F Zorumski, Charles R Conway
PMID: 25577164 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.11.016

are you optmistic about xenon therapy?

 

[Neuropharmacist]

are you optmistic about xenon therapy?

I'd say xenon likely has similar rapid-antidepressant potential. There are some rodent studies and clinical observations supporting this notion, but I don't remember seeing a proper clinical study.

 

[Neuropharmacist]

I always find it comical that a lot of the drugs we do recreationally to feel better end up in the news as possible new antidepressant. LOL Reminds me of prescribing speed for concentration. I mean college kids in the 50's could have told you amphetamine helps them study. Yet it is a medical breakthrough 40 years later.

Yeah we use drugs to gain insight, open our minds and to flat out just feel good. But none of them in my opinion, including psilocybin, LSD or ketamine produce anything but a long afterglow. Any depression will come back in a few days. I think we all know there is no magic bullet. Life is depressing. No pill is going to make that different.

I get what you're saying, but then again, there's a lot of science behind the study of novel rapid-acting antidepressants. In the case of ketamine, there's a lot of evidence supporting its rapid-antidepressant effects, which are sustained for up to a week or two. Many psychiatrists consider ketamine to be the greatest advance in treating depression since ECT. It doesn't mean its a magic bullet or that it "cures" depression, but having a treatment that can help those suffering from major depression get even a little bit better can often mean a lot - not to mention acutely suicidal patients.

Funny to think that amphetamine (or benzedrine) was in fact the first commercially marketed antidepressant.

 

[JackARoe]

Funny to think that amphetamine (or benzedrine) was in fact the first commercially marketed antidepressant.

Wow that I did not know. That is interesting. I am sure it works in some ways as one too.

I admt after a mushtroom trip I feel more hopeful and less depressed for almost a week. So I get the notion of possibly a big helper in plants and medicines can be key in keeping depression at bay. I think it is the media that annoys me not the actual truth of the matter. And I trust BLer's more than the media.