The newest FDA-approved medication to treat severe depression, a nasal spray based on the anesthetic (and misused hallucinogenic party drug) ketamine, will soon be available to veterans treated within the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a move that may help thousands of former service members with depression that has not improved with other treatments, VA officials announced March 19 that the department's doctors are now authorized to prescribe Spravato, the brand name for esketamine, a molecular variation of ketamine. The treatment will be available to veterans based on a physician's assessment and will be administered only to patients who have tried at least two antidepressant medications and continue to have symptoms of major depressive disorder. Read more about the new offering on Military.com.
VA to Offer New Ketamine-Based Nasal Spray for Depression
