Esketamine (ESK), the dextrorotatory enantiomer of ketamine, is an antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor. ESK is considered an effective anesthetic because of its ability to mitigate postoperative pain and opioid use. Recently, it has attracted significant research attention for its fast-acting antidepressant effects. Given the advantages of ESK in both perioperative and...
New psychoactive substances (NPS) are health-hazardous through unpredictable toxicity and effects and largely unknown epidemiology, motivating studies of the latter. Up to 138 NPS were retrospectively identified using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry data from all 34 183 oral fluid drug samples collected in one Swedish health care region 2019-2020 representing 9468...
Increased glutamatergic neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex have been associated with the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine. Activation of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) receptor TrkB is considered a key molecular event for antidepressant-induced functional and structural synaptic plasticity. Several mechanisms have been proposed to underlie...