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If you are suffering from chronic depression, the drug ketamine has been proven to render complete and immediate relief after taking just a few small doses.

Yale University researchers explain why.

According to a report released by the Ivy League School, ketamine works on an entirely different type of neurotransmitter system than current antidepressants, the latter of which can take months to improve symptoms of depression and do not work at all for one out of every three patients.

"The rapid therapeutic response of ketamine in treatment-resistant patients is the biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century," said Ronald Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neurobiology.

While in small does the drug instantly alleviates symptoms of chronic depression, large doses cause short-term but heavy symptoms of psychosis and is in fact known and abused by some drug users as "Special K"

The report reveals how the drug works:

"in a series of steps ketamine triggers release of neurotransmitter glutamate, which in turn stimulates growth of synapses. Research [...] has shown that damage of these synaptic connections caused by chronic stress is rapidly reversed by a single dose of ketamine."

Researchers are currently trying to produce drugs that have work as quickly as ketamine but lasts longer than the week or 10 days that the drug last; however so far they have not been able to do so.