London - It seems almost too obvious, but it appears that laughing gas could help lift depression.
In a small pilot study, nitrous oxide helped patients for whom no other treatments, including conventional drugs, worked. Some said their symptoms disappeared almost completely after inhaling the gas.
Long used to relax dental patients, laughing gas produces a brief but intense feeling of euphoria. Despite its reputation for giving people the giggles, it creates “profound changes” in the brain’s chemistry.
This could explain why some patients felt better for days, despite the euphoria produced by the drug lasting only a few minutes.
Researchers at Washington University in St Louis said the rapid effect of nitrous oxide could help depressed patients in need of immediate help. Anti-depressant pills typically take two weeks to work. - Daily Mail