Laughing Gas Reduces Depression for Up to 24 Hours

July 13, 2015 · Posted in Potential Treatments · Comment 

nitrous oxide

In a proof-of-concept study presented at the 2015 meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, Charles R. Conway and Peter Nagele showed that an hour of 50% oxygen/50% nitrous oxide reduced depression more than placebo as measured 2 hours and 24 hours later. Twenty patients were randomized to receive the laughing gas combination or a placebo combination made up of 50% oxygen/50% nitrogen. In the laughing gas group, four patients responded to the treatment and three patients achieved remission, compared to only one patient responding in the placebo group.

Like the anesthetic ketamine, which can bring about rapid but temporary antidepressant effects when delivered intravenously, nitrous oxide is an NMDA receptor antagonist.