Ketamine being used as depression drug that produces results within hours 

K粉用于治疗抑郁症,数小时内起效 

Antidepressants can take a depressingly long time to kick in – a minimum of two weeks but often more like three to four. That waiting time can be disabling for patients, but what if an antidepressant could work in a day? 

抗抑郁药起效慢，这一点令人非常沮丧——至少需要2周才能起效，且通常情况下需要3至4周。在这段等待时间内，患者无能为力，但如果有一种抗抑郁药能在一天内起效呢？ 

Sounds far-fetched? It isn't. 

不敢相信？真的有这等好事哦。

Remember ketamine, that rather uNPRedictable street drug of the 90s? Well, it is now the latest approach to treating depression and could lead to a whole family of rapid acting antidepressants. 

还记得氯胺酮（K粉）这一90年代流行于街头的毒品吗？现在，它已成为治疗抑郁症的最新方法，且可能引领下一代起效快的抗抑郁药的研发。 

"We haven't had anything really new for about 50 or 60 years," said Allan Young, professor of mood disorders at King's College London. "People say we are still in the age of steam and we need to go to the next technological advance." 

“近五六十年来，我们在抗抑郁药的研发上并未有新的突破，”伦敦国王学院情绪障碍教授艾伦·杨（Allan Young）说道。“大家都说我们仍处于蒸汽时代，技术上需要更进一步。”

Ketamine is best known for being a sedative and a club drug that can induce hallucinations and calmness, but is also used for pain relief and anaesthesia. Additionally, it has rapid antidepressant effects and works in many patients who are resistant to treatment. 

大家都知道，K粉是一种镇静剂，也是一种会引起幻觉和镇静作用的俱乐部毒品，但它也可以用于缓解疼痛或用于麻醉。此外，它能快速起到抗抑郁的作用，对于抗治疗的患者而言，它也能起到作用。 

In the US, clinics are providing IV infusions of ketamine off label, and in March, esketamine, a nasal ketamine-based drug, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment-resistant depression.

美国各诊所正在提供K粉静脉注射，且美国食品和药品监管局于3月份批准了一种基于氯胺酮的鼻用药物艾氯胺酮，可用于治疗难治性抑郁症。 

Carlos Zarate of the US National Institute of Mental Health says one of the main problems with current antidepressants is slow onset speed. He explains it can take 10-14 weeks to see significant improvement with some antidepressants. 

美国国家心理健康研究所的卡洛斯·扎拉特（Carlos Zarate）说，目前，抗抑郁药的主要问题之一是起效慢。他解释说，服用某些抗抑郁药后，可能需要等待10到14周才能看到明显的改善。

"In my mind that is too slow," he said. "We are focusing on treatments that can produce results within hours. That is where we are heading, with ketamine now the prototype for future generation antidepressants which will have rapid, robust antidepressant effects within a few hours." 

“我觉得这太慢了，”他说道。“我们正专注于研究可在数小时内起效的治疗方法。这也是我们努力的方向，K粉是下一代抗抑郁药的原型，预计下一代抗抑郁药将在几小时内快速且有效地产生抗抑郁作用。” 

While ketamine does have some side effects, they subside quickly because the drug is eliminated rapidly from the body, but the therapeutic effects last seven days or longer. Zarate's team is now honing the drug's effectiveness and tolerance, and they have one form without the side effects. 

虽然K粉确实存在一些副作用，但由于其可快速排出体外，因此这些副作用也会很快消失，而其治疗效果却可保持七天或更长时间。扎拉特的团队目前正在提高这种药物的有效性和耐受性，且计划研究出一种没有副作用的K粉用于治疗抑郁。