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Nirmala Akula

3 papers in the library · 25 citations · publishing 2017-2026

Papers

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Time-Dependent Effects of Rapid-Acting Antidepressants in iPSC-Derived Neurons from Treatment-Resistant Depression and Healthy Volunteers.

Research Square February 12, 2026 Jenessa N Johnston, Greg Jones, Shiyong Peng et al.

Rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics show promise for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the molecular mechanisms that contribute to their therapeutic effects remain unclear. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a platform to model human cortical neurons and investigate drug effects in a human-relevant system. Here, iPSCs from individuals with...

Response of iPSC-derived neurons from individuals with treatment-resistant depression to (2 R,6 R)-hydroxynorketamine and reelin: an exploratory study.

Translational Psychiatry November 18, 2025 Jenessa N Johnston, Peixiong Yuan, Bashkim Kadriu et al. 2 citations

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is associated with worse clinical outcomes and longer course of illness. However, TRD is more difficult to model in animal phenotypes, suggesting that other experimental and translational models must be considered to properly address and research novel therapeutics. Reelin, an endogenous glycoprotein downregulated in depression, has shown rapid...

The antidepressant efficacy of subanesthetic-dose ketamine does not correlate with baseline subcortical volumes in a replication sample with major depressive disorder

Journal of Psychopharmacology October 17, 2017 Mark J. Niciu, Nicolas D. Iadarola, Dipavo Banerjee et al. 23 citations

BACKGROUND: This study sought to reproduce, in a larger sample, previous findings of a correlation between smaller raw 3-Tesla (3T) hippocampal volumes and improved antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). A secondary analysis stratified subjects according to functional BDNF rs6265 (val66met) genotype. METHODS: Unmedicated subjects with...