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Smiling is a business when you are in the grip of depression. And the invitations from family and friends to “cheer up” are certainly not enough. One becomes apathetic, one has little desire to be with others, dark thoughts crowd the mind. The specialist doctor can help in the treatment process, with pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, but unfortunately there are cases in which the situation becomes difficult to deal with.
In these forms we speak of treatment resistant pathology. A hope, for now it is only a hypothesis to be proved, for these situations comes from a research conducted at the University of Chicago and published in Science Translational Medicine. Few patients are considered, so the data is to be taken with a grain of salt. But it seems that the treatment with nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, could help those suffering from these more severe forms of depression.
The right concentration of gas
Nitrous oxide is normally used as an anesthetic. In the practice of many dentists it is used both for this effect and because it helps to counteract the sensation of vomiting and fights anxiety. The specialist administers it through a mask which releases the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen in the pre-ordered quantity. It does not create problems in terms of consciousness but can help to relax and can positively affect the sensation of pain, thus helping in the case of dental treatments.
In American research, however, the use of gas is strategically different and could, the conditional is always a must, come into play when in case of major depression that does not respond well to therapies, it is necessary to focus on other paths.
The study in question examined gas at a concentration of 25% or 50%: the analysis examined 20 patients (who continued to follow the prescribed therapies) who completed the approach with three inhalation sessions and 4 who had instead undergone at least one treatment of this type. In one group the gas at the lowest concentration was administered, in the second the gas at the highest concentration: in the third group, control, only oxygen was administered.
Going to see what happened after this original treatment, the experts saw that after even one session of treatment there was an improvement in the depressive picture, in the short term. But above all it has been seen that in those who had undergone the complete cycle of “treatment”, over 80% of patients had an improvement after three months. Curiosity: the positive effects were observed even with the lower dosage, with evident impact on the possibility of side effects.
We are only at the beginning
At the moment, the study can only be considered a sort of scientific “curiosity”, all to be confirmed. But certainly the working hypothesis could be developed in the future.
For now, therefore, we are only faced with a possible hope to help those suffering from the most severe forms of depression. In general terms, the important thing is to find a targeted response together with those who follow us.
In Italy, more than three million people have to deal with the “dark evil” and more than two million are women, with a heavy impact on the quality of life. But it is necessary to understand better, together with the specialist, how to deal with each single picture.
All women, by age, social conditions and above all life experiences, are different from each other and need specific approaches. Even and especially in particularly severe forms of depression, such as the major one, which is concentrated above all in women. This picture has a high impact both on the quality of life of those who suffer from it and those who live close to these people, and on social costs.
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