Translational Psychiatry
June 24, 2026
Mauro Pettorruso, Giacomo D’andrea, Antonio Inserra et al.
Clinical trials investigating psychedelic compounds for depression and anxiety-related disorders are yielding promising preliminary results. Psychedelics produce profound alterations in brain function—such as suppression of the default mode network and thalamocortical dysregulation—leading to intense subjective experiences including ego dissolution and mystical-type states. While often...
Pathophysiology
January 27, 2026
Fiorela Gorea, Martina Pelle, Federico Fiori Nastro et al.
Background/Objectives: Cannabis use has a particularly high prevalence in individuals with psychotic disorders. Although cannabis use is generally associated with cognitive impairments in the general population, its impact on cognition in psychosis remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between cannabis use and cognitive performance in a cohort of individuals...
Psychiatry Research
August 18, 2025
Ilenia Rosa, L. Padula, Francesco Semeraro et al.
2 citations
Depression is a prevalent and heterogeneous disorder with significant personal and social consequences. The rise of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) challenges traditional approaches and underscores the need for a broader neurobiological perspective. When monoaminergic modulation proves insufficient, clinical guidelines increasingly turn to non-monoaminergic interventions such as...
Psychiatry Research
July 26, 2025
Giacomo D’andrea, Clara Cavallotto, Mauro Pettorruso et al.
16 citations
INTRODUCTION Anhedonia, defined as the diminished ability to experience or anticipate pleasure, is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BD), and associated with depression severity, suicidality and poor treatment outcomes. Conventional antidepressants demonstrate limited efficacy against anhedonia. Esketamine nasal spray (ESK-NS) - a novel NMDA receptor...
Current Neuropharmacology
April 7, 2025
Marika Alborghetti, Luana Lionetto, Ginevra Lombardozzi et al.
1 citation
Esketamine is administered intranasally in combination with at least another antidepressant in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Some of these antidepressants might affect ketamine's pharmacokinetic profile by inhibiting cytochrome-P450 (CYP450) isoforms. Our aim was to establish how different types of combined antidepressants affect serum and salivary levels of esketamine at the...
Journal of Personalized Medicine
April 1, 2025
Marco Di, M. Pepe, Giacomo D’andrea et al.
18 citations
Background. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a prevalent, high-burden disorder. Esketamine nasal spray (ESK-NS) has been approved for, T.R.D.; and efficacy has been observed in both clinical trials and real-world studies. However, observations integrating patients’ perspective on this treatment are limited. This multicentric Italian study explored experiences with ESK-NS in TRD patients,...
Current Neuropharmacology
2025
Gianluca Rosso, Giacomo d'Andrea, Stefano Barlati et al.
23 citations
Data on long-term treatment with Esketamine Nasal Spray (ESKNS) in real-world patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD) is scarce. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of ESK-NS treatment at 6 and 12-month follow-ups. This is part of an observational, retrospective, multicentric Italian study (REAL-ESK study). Subjects for the present study...
Journal of Affective Disorders
December 15, 2024
Giacomo d'Andrea, Andrea Miuli, Mauro Pettorruso et al.
6 citations
Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) affects almost 30 % of patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Esketamine Nasal Spray (ESK-NS) has recently been approved for TRD in combination with a Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitor/SSRI or a Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor/SNRI. There is a lack of studies investigating the effectiveness and safety of ESK-NS in combination with...
CNS Spectrums
December 1, 2024
Mauro Scala, Chiara Fabbri, Paolo Fusar‐poli et al.
8 citations
The revival of psilocybin in psychopharmacological research heralds a potential paradigm shift for treating mood and anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric conditions beyond the psychotic spectrum. This critical review evaluates current evidence on psilocybin's efficacy, juxtaposing potential benefits with the practical aspects of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) and the...
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
September 8, 2023
Giacomo D’andrea, Mauro Pettorruso, T. Rhee et al.
8 citations
Depressive disorders represent a significant economic and health burden globally. This is particularly evident in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), commonly defined as the absence of a satisfactory response to at least two different antidepressant trials (as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration/FDA and European Medicine Agencies/EMA). The foregoing TRD cases frequently manifest...
Psychiatry Research
July 29, 2023
Mauro Pettorruso, Roberto Guidotti, Giacomo D’andrea et al.
56 citations
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represents a severe clinical condition with high social and economic costs. Esketamine Nasal Spray (ESK-NS) has recently been approved for TRD by EMA and FDA, but data about predictors of response are still lacking. Thus, a tool that can predict the individual patients' probability of response to ESK-NS is needed. This study investigates sociodemographic and...
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
July 8, 2023
Giacomo D’andrea, Stefania Chiappini, Roger S McIntyre et al.
36 citations
INTRODUCTION: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a serious and debilitating psychiatric disorder that frequently affects older patients. Esketamine nasal spray (ESK-NS) has recently been approved as a treatment for TRD, with multiple studies establishing its efficacy and tolerability. However, the real-world effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of this treatment in older adults is still...
Bipolar Disorders
January 13, 2023
Giovanni Martinotti, Bernardo Dell’osso, Giorgio Di Lorenzo et al.
72 citations
BACKGROUND: Bipolar depression accounts for most of the disease duration in type I and type II bipolar disorder (BD), with few treatment options, often poorly tolerated. Many individuals do not respond to first-line therapeutic options, resulting in treatment-resistant bipolar depression (B-TRD). Esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, has recently been approved for treatment-resistant...
Cephalalgia
April 22, 2015
Cherubino Di Lorenzo, Gianluca Coppola, Giorgio Di Lorenzo et al.
40 citations
Background Cluster headache (CH) patients often receive unsatisfactory treatment and may explore illicit substances as alternatives. We aimed to explore this use of illicit drugs for CH treatment. Methods We invited CH patients from an Internet-based self-help group to complete a questionnaire regarding their therapeutic use of illicit substances. Results Of the 54 respondents, 29 were...