Laughing Gas to Treat Major Depression

How the oldest anesthetic may revolutionize the treatment for mood disorders

Speaker

Peter Nagele is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago

Date & Time

November 19th, 2021, 10:00 AM Pacific / 12:00 PM Central / 1:00 PM Eastern / 19:00h MEZ

Abstract

The discovery that anesthetic agents like ketamine and nitrous oxide provide rapid and lasting improvement in major depression is considered as one of the most important findings in depression research in the last 50 years. In this talk, we will discuss the history of this discovery and highlight the latest findings.

Short Bio

Peter Nagele is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago. He has studied the neuropharmacology of nitrous oxide and other anesthetic gases for more than 20 years. His team discovered the antidepressant effects of nitrous oxide in patients with treatment-resistant major depression:

1995 MD University of Innsbruck
1997-2004 Residency AKH Wien, Medical University of Vienna
2000-2002 Post-doctoral research fellowship Washington University, St. Louis
2005 Habilitation Anesthesiology, Medical University of Vienna
2005-2018 Faculty, Washington University
2018- Professor and Chair, Dept of Anesthesia and Critical Care; University of Chicago.
2001 FWF-Schrödinger Fellow
2004 Erste-Bank Preis
2006 Otto-Kraupp Preis
2011 Billroth Preis
2012 Presidential Scholar Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists
2016 NARSAD Independent Investigator Award
2016 Ziskind-Somerfeld Research Award, Society for Biological Psychiatry
2021 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Arts