Background: We previously reported that ketamine has anxiolytic effects in patients with treatment-resistant generalized anxiety and social anxiety disorders. Aims: The purpose of this study was to replicate our earlier report about ketamine‘s anxiolytic activity, using a more robust study design. Methods: This was a double-blind, psychoactive-controlled ascending dose study in 12 patients with...
Ketamine has been shown to produce a rapid and potent antidepressant response in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Currently ketamine is most commonly administered as a 40-minute intravenous infusion, though it is unknown whether this is the optimal route of administration. To determine the plasma concentration time course of the R- and S-enantiomers of ketamine and norketamine...
Peripheral BDNF changes after ketamine administration have been proposed as a biomarker for brain BDNF changes. However, published data are conflicting and come from studies in paired animal groups. This study determined the time course of plasma BDNF concentrations following the administration of a single 10 mg/kg dose of ketamine by different routes of administration in rats. Brain BDNF...
The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine has rapid onset activity in treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Due to similarities in brain network activity in depression and anxiety disorders, we hypothesized that ketamine might also be active in other refractory anxiety disorders. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of...