Suicidal adults can use nasal spray to help ease symptoms within 24 hours, FDA says [View all]
Source: The Sacramento Bee
Health officials in the U.S. approved a nasal spray designed for adults suffering from suicidal thoughts or behavior — the “first and only” antidepressant medicine shown to help people feel relief with one dose. Some patients improved in as little as four hours.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the spray should be used in conjunction with oral antidepressants and therapy visits with a healthcare professional, according to Janssen Pharmaceutica, the Belgium-based company behind the medication.
Most importantly, its makers say the nasal spray, coined SPRAVATO, provides a new option of “significant symptom relief” for suicidal adults while other longer-term treatments take effect.
“Many people who live with depression know all too well the feeling of desperation. If that major depression progresses to active suicidal thoughts, it’s crushing, and they need options to help change the trajectory of their acute depressive episode,” Theresa Nguyen, chief program officer of Mental Health America, a non-profit organization based in Virginia, said in a news release.
Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article244741452.html
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