Low doses of nitrous oxide — commonly dubbed ‘laughing gas’ — could briefly relieve the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression, a new study has found.
Researchers from the universities of Birmingham and Oxford, alongside Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, discovered a single inhalation of nitrous oxide at a 50 per cent concentration led to a reduction of symptoms in people with depression.
The study, which has been published in the journal eBioMedicine, looked at the impact on people with major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD), as well as bipolar depression.
While ‘rapid and significant’ reductions of symptoms were found within 24 hours after a single dose of the gas, the effects only lasted around a week, meaning a longer course would be needed by the majority of patients, The Times reported.
TRD affects almost half of all UK patients experiencing depression.
Study author Kiranpreet Gill, a PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham said:
‘This study brings together the best possible evidence indicating that nitrous oxide has the potential to provide swift and clinically significant short-term improvements in patients with severe depression.
‘Our analyses show that nitrous oxide could form part of a new generation of rapid-acting treatments for depression.’
Low doses of nitrous oxide — commonly dubbed ‘laughing gas’ — could briefly relieve the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression , a new study has found
Laughing gas is most commonly known for its application as an anaesthetic, providing short-term pain relief during dental and surgical procedures – but it has also been used illegally as a recreational drug known as ‘hippy crack’. Pictured: Canisters for recreational use of the gas
Gill said the study also looked at the potential negative side effects of nitrous oxide.
These included nausea, dizziness and headaches, which patients reported resolved quickly and without the need to see a doctor. The study concluded that there were no overriding safety concerns for the short-term use of nitrous oxide.
More research would be needed however to explore the long-term use of the gas on a patient’s body.
Laughing gas is most commonly known for its application as an anaesthetic, providing short-term pain relief during dental and surgical procedures – but it has also been used illegally as a recreational drug known as ‘hippy crack’.
The colourless gas, which is inhaled, is thought to have an effect on glutamate receptors in the brain and impacts mood and emotions.
Professor Hamish McAllister-Williams of Newcastle University, who was not involved in the research, said it was too soon to draw the conclusion that nitrous oxide is an effective treatment for depression.
He said: ‘Overall this review suggests that it is worthwhile looking further into whether nitrous oxide may be a treatment for depression, but that much more research is needed with larger and better designed trials before any conclusions can be drawn.’
While the research suggests a promising use for depression, nitrous oxide is also on the rise recreationally – and is now the second most popular drug used among 16 to 24-year-olds after cannabis.
