Amino-acid neurotransmitter system dysfunction plays a major role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) to investigate whether prefrontal levels of amino-acid neurotransmitters predict antidepressant response to a single intravenous infusion of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist ketamine in MDD patients....
Ketamine rapidly improves depressive symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) who do not respond to multiple standard antidepressants. However, it remains unknown whether ketamine is equally effective in patients with MDD who previously also did not respond to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This study compared 17 patients with treatment-resistant MDD who...
Currently available antidepressants used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) unfortunately often take weeks to months to achieve their full effects, commonly resulting in considerable morbidity and increased risk for suicidal behavior. Our lack of understanding of the precise cellular underpinnings of this illness and of the mechanism of action of existing effective pharmacological...