When most of us think of nitrous oxide—or “laughing gas,” as it’s commonly called—we think about going to the dentist for a filling. The anesthetic gas can make you feel relaxed or giddy (hence the term “laughing gas”) for just a few minutes before the feeling is gone. But what if it could help treat depression?
Connor Brenna, MD, studies new ways to treat depression. In an award-winning essay published in Physiology, He explains that “there are few disorders with as desperate a need for better therapies” and “sometimes the best solutions are right in front of us.” Nitrous oxide, which has been used as an anesthetic for more than 250 years, could be one of these solutions.
There is still considerable work to be done to understand how novel antidepressants work, whether they are effective, and how to use them safely. However, several early clinical trials have now reported that the fleeting effect of nitrous oxide is followed by an immediate and lasting improvement in mood for people with depression.
Read more about Brenna’s work with nitrous oxide and depression, and why his research is so important, in its entirety.
Connor Brenna, MD, is a resident physician in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and a PhD candidate in the Department of Physiology, at the University of Toronto in Canada. He studies the long-term effects of anesthetic drugs on the brain and its functions in the lab of Beverley Orser, MD, PhD.
Erica Roth, MS, is the American Physiological Society’s communications manager. She is a former reference librarian and medical writer.