UAE: Patients battling depression find relief with new nasal spray

UAE: Patients battling depression find relief with new nasal spray

The UAE’s largest healthcare network has started using the new nasal spray for the treatment and management of severe depression in adults. The Esketamine nasal spray provides relief to people who have tried other antidepressant treatments but with little or no benefit, according to the doctors of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha). The drug was , after it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US and the European Medicines Agency. Seha has launched this novel therapy for patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression. >> Esketamine targets new receptors in the brain, not those which were traditionally addressed by antidepressant medications. It is now being administered at the psychiatry clinics of the Ambulatory Healthcare Services; Sheikh Khalifa Medical City; and Al Ain Hospital. “Mental health issues and their treatment differ from patient to patient, which is why we are pleased to add another therapy to our services, giving us more...solutions that can be tailored to each patient,” said Dr Nahida Niaz Ahmed, consultant psychiatrist and chair of the Behavioural Health Council at Seha. Many patients, who received the treatment, underlined that Esketamine worked. A 30-year-old man — who had been struggling with a major depressive disorder for