The Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug that can relieve depression in hours instead of weeks.
Esketamine, a chemical cousin of the anesthetic and party drug ketamine, represents the first truly new kind of depression drug since Prozac hit the market in 1988.
“There has been a long-standing need for additional effective treatments for treatment-resistant depression, a serious and life-threatening condition,” said Dr. Tiffany Farchione, acting director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release about the decision.
“This is potentially a game changer for millions of people,” said Dr. Dennis Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “It offers a lot of hope.”
Esketamine works through a mechanism different from those of drugs like Prozac, Charney said. And that is probably why studies show it can often help people with major depressive disorder who haven’t been helped by other drugs.
During the German occupation of The Netherlands people still used a car without gasoline/fuel because of shortages. In this picture a Ford V is drawn by a horse. The spot that would usually holds the engine is now being used as the drivers’ seat. Holland, The Hague, May 14th 1941
Marble statue of Antinous-Osiris, ca.131-138 AD, from Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli; Antinous (ca. 111-130) Bythinian youth and favorite of Emperor Hadrian; Osiris is the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead.
Antinous is shown here in a traditional Egyptian pose and royal dress. Antinous-Osiris was believed to have healing powers and his veneration lasted long after the death of Hadrian.
Though common knowledge to classic horror film fans, to others it may come as a surprise that David Prowse and Peter Cushing were in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell together three years before Star Wars. Moreover, their pairing in that film is curiously similar to Lucas’ space opera. Cushing played Dr. Frankenstein and Prowse played the monster. It’s certainly possible that Lucas was, in some way, influenced by their appearance in what would be Hammer Films’ last Frankenstein film.
