A Novel Treatment for Depression and Bipolar Disorders: Ketamine??

I've read some fascinating articles in nature magazine in the past couple of days, which provide evidence for a therapeutic role in the dissociative anesthetic Ketamine in the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder. Not only does ketamine - a widely-used therapeutic agent in veterinary medicine and a favorite club drug under the name 'special K' - alleviate anhedonia in depression and bipolar syndrome, which is something that SSRI's cannot do, but significant relief in patients' symptoms of MDD and BPD are seen in a mere matter of hours. Current antidepressants have an onset of effect in the order of weeks, if they work at all! Moreover, it causes a unilateral reduction in suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts in these patients. It's almost like the fog is lifted from the brains of these patients, which is a godsend for psychiatrists everywhere. The most recent issue of Nature cited a figure in which some 64% of patients with either disorder respond positively to Ketamine injections, which - when compared to only around 28% response rate for any given SSRI.

I think it's too early to say whether or not this is a panacea for depression-spectrum mental disorders -  after all, that's what meta-analyses are for - but it is certainly a ray of hope in the ongoing battle against depression. Since the only true 'cure' for depression, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) has had its reputation shot to pieces by movies like 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', let's hope the general public is more willing to give this party drug a chance to treat them & their loved ones.