Skip to content

Kenji Hashimoto

Chiba University, Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba University

77 papers in the library · 4,709 citations · publishing 1990-2026

Papers

Sort Most recent Most cited

Ketamine and its enantiomers for depression: a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2023.

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience April 25, 2024 Li-Yuan Zhao, Guang-Fen Zhang, Xue-Jie Lou et al. 11 citations

Ketamine has demonstrated rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, marking its emergence as an innovative treatment of depression. Despite the growing number of preclinical and clinical studies exploring the antidepressant effects of ketamine and its enantiomers, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in this field has yet to be conducted. This study employs bibliometric methods and...

Depression-like phenotypes in mice following common bile duct ligation: Insights into the gut-liver-brain axis via the vagus nerve.

Neurobiology of Disease March 1, 2024 Yong Yang, Akifumi Eguchi, Chisato Mori et al.

Depression frequently occurs in patients with liver cirrhosis, yet the reasons for this correlation are not fully understood. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota has been implicated in depression through the gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve. This study explored the potential role of the gut-liver-brain axis via the vagus nerve in depression-like phenotypes in mice with liver cirrhosis. These mice...

Are “mystical experiences” essential for antidepressant actions of ketamine and the classic psychedelics?

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience February 27, 2024 Kenji Hashimoto 51 citations

Abstract The growing interest in the rapid and sustained antidepressant effects of the dissociative anesthetic ketamine and classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, is remarkable. However, both ketamine and psychedelics are known to induce acute mystical experiences; ketamine can cause dissociative symptoms such as out-of-body experience, while psychedelics typically bring about hallucinogenic...

Depression-like phenotypes in mice with hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury: A role of gut-microbiota-liver-brain axis via vagus nerve.

Journal of Affective Disorders January 15, 2024 Yong Yang, Akifumi Eguchi, Xiayun Wan et al.

Depression is a frequent symptom in patients with chronic liver disease; however, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota plays a critical role in depression through the gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve. In this study, we investigated whether the gut-microbiota-liver-brain axis plays a role in depression-like phenotypes in mice with hepatic...

Role of the gut-brain axis via the subdiaphragmatic vagus nerve in stress resilience of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in mice exposed to chronic restrain stress.

Neurobiology of Disease December 1, 2023 Youge Qu, Akifumi Eguchi, Li Ma et al. 26 citations

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is the most widely used illicit substance worldwide. Nevertheless, recent observational studies demonstrated that lifetime MDMA use among U.S. adults was associated with a lower risk of depression and suicide thoughts. We recently reported that the gut-brain axis may contribute to MDMA-induced stress resilience in mice. To further explore this, we...

Prophylactic effects of arketamine, but not hallucinogenic psychedelic DOI nor non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog lisuride, in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice and mice exposed to chronic restrain stress.

Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior December 1, 2023 Guilin Liu, Li Ma, Youge Qu et al. 16 citations

Anesthetic ketamine and classical psychedelics that act as 5-hydroxytryptamine-2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists demonstrated rapid and sustained antidepressant actions in patients with treatment-resistant depression. The new antidepressant arketamine is reported to cause long-lasting prophylactic effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice and mice exposed to chronic restrain stress (CRS)....

The role of CD38 in inflammation-induced depression-like behavior and the antidepressant effect of (R)-ketamine.

Brain, behavior, and immunity October 1, 2023 Xinying Zhang, Teng He, Zifeng Wu et al.

CD38 is involved in immune responses, cell proliferation, and has been identified in the brain, where it is implicated in inflammation processes and psychiatric disorders. We hypothesized that dysfunctional CD38 activity in the brain may contribute to the pathogenesis of depression. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we used a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression model and...

A role of splenic heme biosynthesis pathway in the persistent prophylactic actions of arketamine in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice.

Translational Psychiatry July 25, 2023 Li Ma, Long Wang, Youge Qu et al.

Relapse is common in remitted patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Arketamine, an (R)-enantiomer of ketamine, has persistent prophylactic actions in an inflammatory model of depression. However, the precise mechanisms underlying these prophylactic actions remain unknown. Given the role of the brain-spleen axis in depression, we sought to identify splenic molecular targets that play a...

Beneficial effects of arketamine on the reduced bone mineral density in susceptible mice after chronic social defeat stress: Role of the gut-microbiota-bone-brain axis.

Neuropharmacology May 1, 2023 Xiayun Wan, Akifumi Eguchi, Lijia Chang et al.

Patients with depression exhibit reduced bone mineral density (BMD). We previously reported that the new antidepressant arketamine improved the reduced BMD seen in chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) susceptible mice and ovariectomized mice. Considering the role of the gut microbiota in maintaining bone health, the current study investigated whether the gut microbiota, along with metabolites...

Arketamine for cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience February 14, 2023 Kenji Hashimoto 40 citations

Cognitive impairment has been observed in patients with various psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BD). Although modern therapeutic drugs can improve certain symptoms (i.e., psychosis, depression) in these patients, these drugs have not been found to improve cognitive impairment. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist...

Efficacy and safety of perioperative application of ketamine on postoperative depression: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies

Molecular Psychiatry January 20, 2023 Jie Guo, Di Qiu, Han-Wen Gu et al. 46 citations

Ketamine, a commonly used general anesthetic, can produce rapid and sustained antidepressant effect. However, the efficacy and safety of the perioperative application of ketamine on postoperative depression remains uncertain. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the effect of perioperative intravenous administration of ketamine on postoperative depression. Randomized controlled trials...

Neuroinflammation through the vagus nerve-dependent gut-microbiota-brain axis in treatment-resistant depression.

Progress in Brain Research 2023 Kenji Hashimoto

Neuroinflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), including treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Patients with TRD have higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers compared with responders to antidepressants. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the gut-microbiota-brain axis via the vagus nerve plays a key role in neuroinflammation. Preclinical and...

A role of GABAA receptor α1 subunit in the hippocampus for rapid-acting antidepressant-like effects of ketamine.

Neuropharmacology December 21, 2022 Xiao-Hui Tang, Y. Diao, Zhuoying Ren et al.

Ketamine can produce rapid-acting antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant patients with depression. Although alterations in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission in the brain play a role in depression, the precise molecular mechanisms in these neurotransmission underlying ketamine's antidepressant actions remain largely unknown. Mice exposed to FSS (forced swimming stress) showed...

Rapid antidepressant-like effect of non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog lisuride, but not hallucinogenic psychedelic DOI, in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior December 5, 2022 Youge Qu, Lijia Chang, Li Ma et al. 42 citations

Classical psychedelics with 5-hydroxytryptamine-2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonism have rapid antidepressant actions in patients with depression. However, there is an ongoing debate over the role of 5-HT2AR in the antidepressant-like actions of psychedelics. In this study, we compared the effects of DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: a hallucinogenic psychedelic drug with potent 5-HT2AR agonism),...

Ketamine and its metabolites: Potential as novel treatments for depression.

Neuropharmacology October 1, 2022 Kai Zhang, Yitan Yao, Kenji Hashimoto 68 citations

Depression is a well-known serious mental illness, and the onset of treatment using traditional antidepressants is frequently delayed by several weeks. Moreover, numerous patients with depression fail to respond to therapy. One major breakthrough in antidepressant therapy is that subanesthetic ketamine doses can rapidly alleviate depressive symptoms within hours of administering a single dose,...

Arketamine, a new rapid-acting antidepressant: A historical review and future directions

Neuropharmacology August 14, 2022 Ji-Chun Zhang, Wei Yao, Kenji Hashimoto 88 citations

The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine causes rapid onset and sustained antidepressant actions in treatment-resistant patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. (R,S)-ketamine is a racemic mixture consisting of (R)-ketamine (or arketamine) and (S)-ketamine (or...

(R)-ketamine as prophylactic and therapeutic drug for neurological disorders: beyond depression.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews June 1, 2022 Xingming Wang, Jianjun Yang, Kenji Hashimoto

Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. The increasing social and economic burdens of neurological disorders are driven by global population growth and aging. Depression is a common psychiatric symptom in numerous neurological disorders. It is also a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias, Parkinson's...

Brain Research Bulletin Special Issue: Brain-body communication in health and diseases Brain-spleen axis in health and diseases: a review and future perspective.

Brain Research Bulletin February 1, 2022 Yan Wei, Tong Wang, Lei Liao et al.

The spleen, an important tissue for the immune system, acts as a filter for blood within the immune system. Accumulating evidence suggests that the spleen affects a number of brain functions in health and diseases via immune modulation. Systemic inflammation or chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) can cause splenomegaly in rodents. Interestingly, the new antidepressant arketamine could normalize...

Microglial ERK-NRBP1-CREB-BDNF signaling in sustained antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine

Molecular Psychiatry November 24, 2021 W. Yao, Qianqian Cao, Shilin Luo et al. 208 citations

(R,S)-ketamine elicits rapid-acting and sustained antidepressant actions in treatment-resistant patients with depression. (R)-ketamine produces longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine in rodents; however, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine remain unknown. Using isobaric Tag for Relative and Absolute Quantification, we identified...

Molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of arketamine: beyond the NMDA receptor

Molecular Psychiatry May 7, 2021 Wei Yan, Lijia Chang, Kenji Hashimoto 242 citations

The discovery of robust antidepressant actions exerted by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine has been a crucial breakthrough in mood disorder research. (R,S)-ketamine is a racemic mixture of equal amounts of (R)-ketamine (arketamine) and (S)-ketamine (esketamine). In 2019, an esketamine nasal spray from Johnson & Johnson was approved in the United States of...

Molecular mechanisms of the rapid-acting and long-lasting antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine.

Biochemical Pharmacology July 1, 2020 Kenji Hashimoto 232 citations

Ketamine, an anesthetic developed in the early 1960s, is also a popular abused drug among young people at dance parties and raves and among spiritual seekers, because it produces schizophrenia-like symptoms and dissociation (i.e., out-of-body experience). Regarding mood disorders, ketamine exerts robust antidepressant actions in treatment-resistant patients with depression. Ketamine is a...

R-(-)-ketamine modifies behavioral effects of morphine predicting efficacy as a novel therapy for opioid use disorder.

Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior April 22, 2020 Jeffrey M. Witkin, J. Kranzler, K. Kaniecki et al. 33 citations

Substance abuse disorder continues to have devastating consequences for individuals and society and current therapies are not sufficient to provide the magnitude of medical impact required. Although some evidence suggests the use of ketamine in treating various substance use related- symptoms, its adverse event profile including dissociation, dysphoria, and abuse liability limit its potential...

A historical review of antidepressant effects of ketamine and its enantiomers.

Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior February 5, 2020 Yan Wei, Lijia Chang, Kenji Hashimoto 157 citations

The robust antidepressant effects of (R,S)-ketamine are among the most important discoveries in mood research over the last half century. Off-label use of (R,S)-ketamine, which is an equal mixture of (R)-ketamine and (S)-ketamine, has become especially popular in the United States (US) for treatment-resistant depression. On March 5, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved an...

Essential role of microglial transforming growth factor-β1 in antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine and the novel antidepressant TGF-β1

Translational Psychiatry January 27, 2020 Kai Zhang, Chun Yang, Lijia Chang et al. 120 citations

In rodent models of depression, (R)-ketamine has greater potency and longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine; however, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine remain unknown. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we identified novel molecular targets that contribute to the different antidepressant effects of the two enantiomers. Either...

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of ketamine enantiomers and its metabolites

Translational Psychiatry November 7, 2019 Chun Yang, Jianjun Yang, A. Luo et al. 189 citations

Although the robust antidepressant effects of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist ketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression are beyond doubt, the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying its antidepressant effects remain unknown. NMDAR inhibition and the subsequent α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) activation are...