NARRATION
Tim is one of a handful of Australians taking part in a groundbreaking clinical trial.

Tim
I'm hoping that the drug trial proves to be successful and, um, becomes a miracle cure.

NARRATION
Researchers are experimenting with a drug that could mean a paradigm shift in the treatment of mental illness.

Prof Colleen Loo
This is the first study of its kind in Australia. We wanted to see, 'Does this really work?'

Dr Maryanne Demasi
Is it possible that a party drug could be the next big thing in treating depression?

NARRATION
The drug of choice - ketamine. You may know it as a party drug. Its street name is 'Special K'. You can snort it, you can smoke it or you can inject it. Ketamine users often describe the feeling as an out-of-body experience.

Dr John Leyden
And that is a detachment of the body and the psyche, so to speak. This, in the party scene, is the high. Some people feel as if they're looking down on their body. They can hallucinate or have delusions with ketamine.

NARRATION
Its recreational use is illegal. But ketamine was originally developed as an anaesthetic for soldiers in the Vietnam War. Today, it's valuable in veterinary and human medicine.

Dr John Leyden
Ketamine is widely used in medicine, both in anaesthesia and pain management. We use it in trauma anaesthesia, paediatric anaesthesia, burns.

NARRATION
Researchers are now buzzing with the prospect of using ketamine to treat mental illness.

Tim
I found that my motivation is near zero. Anything enjoyable is dull or blunted. It's like a great weight on my chest and it builds up over time.

NARRATION
Like many sufferers of major depression, Tim found it difficult to find excitement, even in the happiest of times, like his son's wedding.

Tim
When I was writing a speech, I was feeling detached from the whole process. You know, I didn't have the motivation to do it. And I didn't have that enjoyment I should've got out of writing a speech for my son. It was the happiest time of his life.

Prof Colleen Loo
You might be, you know, struggling to think, feeling like your brain is in a fog. But on the outside, you look well. So people think, 'What's wrong with you?'

NARRATION
Tim tried all sorts of conventional treatments, like electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressants.

Tim
As to the long-term, there's nothing that really given me that improvement at all...

Dr Maryanne Demasi
Unfortunately only 50 percent of patients respond to their first medication. And when they do, it usually takes weeks to kick in. But when the chips are down, weeks feel like years.

Prof Colleen Loo
I always say to my patients that, you know, I have very good hopes that we are going to be able to cure you. You just need to hold on until the treatments work. There are, unfortunately, some people who do end up taking their lives before they have effective treatment.

NARRATION
These researchers are hoping the rapid action of ketamine is the breakthrough they've been waiting for.

Dr Roslyn Lai
In this trial, we're looking at very low doses of ketamine. So we're looking at about one-tenth of the dose of ketamine used in anaesthesia and seeing its antidepressant effects.

Prof Colleen Loo
People are initially a bit surprised and a bit concerned about...'My goodness, you're gonna give me this drug.' We then explain to them very carefully that we're giving it in a very carefully controlled dose and in a very carefully medically-monitored setting.

NARRATION
The trial is blinded, so the anaesthetist is the only one who knows whether the injection contains ketamine or placebo.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
So, Tim is in there at the moment, having his infusion. Our cameras are not allowed in there while it happens, because too much activity can bring on side effects, like hallucinations.

Prof Colleen Loo
You just feel a bit unreal, things around you look a bit distorted. Maybe the colours look different. Things just seem a bit different. These pass, so they're just there for the first one or two hours and then they pass away.

NARRATION
Medications usually work by altering serotonin or dopamine levels. But ketamine is different. It works on the glutamate system, which induces rapid signalling of memory and information processing.

Dr Roslyn Lai
That enhances the brain's ability to form new neurons as well as forming connections between neurons, so helping in what's known as neuroplasticity.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
A similar study in the US found 70% of patients improved within a day of receiving a single dose of ketamine, making it potentially one of the biggest medical developments since the advent of antidepressants.

NARRATION
Although not addictive like heroin, some are concerned that ketamine users could develop a dependency on it.

Dr John Leyden
In a clinical setting, most drugs that we use that have addictive potentials don't go on to be abused by those patients.

NARRATION
It's still not known how long each treatment will last, but, so far, the results are remarkable.

Prof Colleen Loo
What we've seen are sometimes a dramatic lifting of mood. So people feel, you know, very, very dull, very depressed. We give them the ketamine, and, in a few hours, you can just see in front of your eyes they look brighter, they start chatting and they actually feel happy.

Dr John Leyden
It's a very exciting field. We're hoping that it will open up doors for research into the development for new treatments of resistant depression.

NARRATION
It takes a few hours for Tim to emerge from his treatment. He won't know whether he had ketamine or placebo until the end of the trial.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
How are you feeling?

Tim
Great, thank you. I'm feeling surprisingly good. So, I didn't expect this to happen. I feel a lot happier and smiley on the world. Yes, so, I'm not sure how long it's going to last. But it's definitely made a difference.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
Oh, good. I'm glad for you. Well, all the best.

Tim
Thanks, Maryanne.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
Thanks, Tim. Good luck.

Tim
See you later.

Dr Maryanne Demasi
Bye.

NARRATION
Despite the positive results so far, the researchers still need to secure funding for a long-term trial.

STORY CONTACTS

Dr John Leyden 
Chairman
Unicorn Foundation
Mosman NSW 2088

Prof Colleen Loo 
School of Psychiatry
The University of NSW
St George Hospital
NSW

Dr Roslyn Lai 
Wesley Hospital
Kogarah,NSW