A surprising treatment has been found for severe depression.

The Independent has reported that the illegal dance club drug, Ketamine, has successfully been used to help NHS patients suffering from severe depression.

It has been reported that infusions of ketamine given to patients in an Oxford trial had a beneficial effect on those who were not responding to orthodox treatments.

Although many patients taking part in the trial at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust relapsed within a day or two, almost 30 percent showed improvements lasting at least three weeks.

Psychiatrist Dr Rupert McShane of Oxford University stated, "We've seen remarkable changes in people who've had severe depression for many years that no other treatment has touched. It's very moving to witness."

He continued, "Patients often comment that the flow of their thinking seems suddenly freer. For some, even a brief experience of response helps them to realize that they can get better and this gives them hope."

According to Fox News, the drug has been given the nickname, "Special K."

The drug was reportedly injected into patients, and the doses that were used in the patient trial were much lower than when used to "party" so side effects were kept minimal.

Although ketamine has been proven to help those with severe depression, McShane stated that it won't be a routine treatment anytime soon.

He explained that the discovery that ketamine can help, even for a short period, had been enough to give new hope to some of the patients in the study, even those who had wanted to commit suicide in the past.

It has been reported that the company Johnson & Johnson is developing an intranasal form of ketamine, called esketamine, in mid-stage trials and has announced that its results have been promising so far.

If ketamine is able to relieve the symptoms of severe depression, enough for suffering patients to keep from suffering suicide, it's a form of medication that should be further explored.