Objective: To synthesize evidence for intravenous racemic ketamine and regulated intranasal esketamine in adults with acute suicidal presentations; distinguish the outcomes these interventions have and have not been shown to change; and place any rapid response within a complete emergency suicide-care pathway. Methods: A narrative review of PubMed/MEDLINE-indexed literature was updated through...
Objectives Ketamine and esketamine are increasingly used for treatment-resistant depressive disorders, particularly when rapid symptom reduction is clinically desirable. Intranasal esketamine has a product-specific regulatory framework in several jurisdictions, whereas most racemic ketamine formulations remain off-label for psychiatric indications. This narrative review provides practical...
Ketamine may be a viable treatment option for patients with treatment-resistant post-stroke depression. Further research is warranted to better understand the efficacy and safety of ketamine in this specific patient population.
Mood disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP), significantly impact global health, with MDD affecting over 300 million people and BP affecting approximately 2% of the world's population. Ketamine, originally an anesthetic, has emerged as a promising treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), due to its unique pharmacological...
This study examines self-reported sleep alterations in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) inpatients following intravenous ketamine administration. This is a post-hoc analysis of a naturalistic observational study, which enrolled 28 inpatients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and analyzed self-reported sleep changes (items 1-4; 'insomnia', 'nighttime restlessness', 'early...
Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is a racemic mixture of esketamine and arketamine used to treat unipolar and bipolar depression. Preliminary reports indicate that it may be beneficial for depressed patients reporting symptoms of anhedonia. In this systematic review we aim to assess and analyze the existing body of evidence regarding the therapeutic effects of ketamine on...
Ketamine is the prototypal rapid-acting antidepressant (RAAD) for TRD with approved indication for esketamine-nasal spray (ESK-NS). Distinctly, arketamine (R-KET) demonstrates enhanced antidepressant effects and neuroplasticity changes compared to esketamine, with fewer dissociative side effects and abuse potential. This study focuses on R-ketamine's therapeutic implications, safety, and...
Anhedonia is a core symptom of depression characterized by a diminished ability to experience pleasure. Currently available treatments for depression often fall short in adequately addressing anhedonia that often presents as a chronic and debilitating symptom. Ketamine is known to possess antianhedonic properties. This post-hoc analysis of a naturalistic observational study of...
There is evidence for ketamine use in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Several safety concerns arise regarding adverse drug reactions in specific subpopulations. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of intravenous ketamine treatment in relation to dissociative and psychotic measures in TRD inpatients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar depression (BP) with...
Purpose: Approximately 30% of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are treatment resistant. There is an unquestionable need for new treatment strategies. Subanesthetic doses of intravenous (IV) ketamine have a rapid antidepressant effect in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This paper describes the efficacy of repeated series of intravenous ketamine infusions as an add-on treatment...
Background and Objectives: There is evidence for ketamine efficacy in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Several safety and tolerability concerns arise that some psychotropic agents may provide blood pressure or/and heart rate alterations. The aim of this study is to review blood pressure measurements in course of the treatment with ketamine on treatment refractory inpatients with somatic...
Background: There is evidence supporting the use of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, there are some safety and tolerability concerns associated with ketamine. This study aimed to investigate ketamine’s safety and tolerability to the central nervous system and to assess the relationship between dissociative symptomology and psychometric outcomes during and after...
INTRODUCTION: Ketamine exhibits antidepressant properties in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) with some concern over its cardiovascular safety and tolerability issues. This paper reports on the cardiovascular safety in short-term intravenous ketamine treatment in TRD inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The observational study...
The current psychopharmacological treatment approaches for major depression focus on monoaminergic interventions, which are ineffective in a large proportion of patients. Globally, treatment-resistant bipolar depression (TRBD) affects up to 33% of depressive patients receiving treatment. Certain needs are still unmet and require new approaches. Many studies are in favor of treatments with...
Impulsive behaviours affect patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP), increasing suicide risk and mood instability. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, has been reported to promote fast-acting antidepressive and antisuicidal effects. Magnesium administered contemporarily with low-dose NMDA antagonists has been shown to cause a reduction...
Abstract Background and objectives: There is evidence for ketamine use in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Several safety concerns arise regarding adverse drug reactions and specific subpopulations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the safety of intravenous ketamine treatment concerning dissociative and psychotic measures in TRD inpatients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and...
Abstract Background and objectives: There is evidence for ketamine use in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Several safety and tolerability concerns arise regarding adverse drug reactions and specific subpopulations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between dissociative and psychometric measures in course of intravenous ketamine treatment in TRD inpatients with Major...