Novel rapid treatment options for adolescent depression.
Sandra Ledesma-Corvi, Jordi Jornet-Plaza, Laura Gálvez-melero, M Julia García-Fuster
Pharmacological Research March 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107085 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Electroconvulsive therapy brain stimulation ketamine classical psychedelics cannabidiol |
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | Adolescence Fast-acting antidepressants Sex differences Suicide prevention |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | Non-pharmacological neuromodulation and pharmacological options including ketamine, psychedelics, and cannabidiol show promise as fast-acting antidepressants for adolescents, though most clinical evidence is extrapolated from adult studies and more research is needed. |
Abstract
There is an urgent need for novel fast-acting antidepressants for adolescent treatment-resistant depression and/or suicidal risk, since the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that are clinically approved for that age (i.e., fluoxetine or escitalopram) take weeks to work. In this context, one of the main research lines of our group is to characterize at the preclinical level novel approaches for rapid-acting antidepressants for adolescence. The present review summarizes the potential use in adolescence of non-pharmacological options, such as neuromodulators (electroconvulsive therapy and other innovative types of brain stimulation), as well as pharmacological options, including consciousness-altering drugs (mainly ketamine but also classical psychedelics) and cannabinoids (i.e., cannabidiol), with promising fast-acting responses. Following a brief analytical explanation of adolescent depression, we present a general introduction for each therapeutical approach together with the clinical evidence supporting its potential beneficial use in adolescence (mainly extrapolated from prior successful examples for adults), to then report recent and/or ongoing preclinical studies that will aid in improving the inclusion of these therapies in the clinic, by considering potential sex-, age-, and dose-related differences, and/or other factors that might affect efficacy or long-term safety. Finally, we conclude the review by providing future avenues to maximize treatment response, including the need for more clinical studies and the importance of designing and/or testing novel treatment options that are safe and fast-acting for adolescent depression.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synaptic Dysfunction in Depression: Potential Therapeutic Targets | 2012 | Review | |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse | 2003 | Review | |
| Synthesizing the Evidence for Ketamine and Esketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: An International Expert Opinion on the Available Evidence and Implementation Adults with treatment-resistant depression | 2021 | Review | |
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part II—Clinical Applications and Guidelines | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Emerging strategies and clinical recommendations for the management of novel depression subtypes. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics April 1, 2025
- Major challenges in youth psychopathology: treatment-resistant depression. A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024
- The molecular mechanisms through which psilocybin prevents suicide: evidence from network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses Translational Psychiatry June 16, 2025
- Characterizing the therapeutical use of ketamine for adolescent rats of both sexes: Antidepressant-like efficacy and safety profile. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie 2025
- Psilocybin as a fast-acting and long-lasting antidepressant for adolescence: Proposing NeuroD1 as a biomarker of its long-term plasticity Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy October 30, 2025
and 4 more in the library
Cites 45
- A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 2006
- Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 1, 2019
- Psychedelics promote plasticity by directly binding to BDNF receptor TrkB Nature Neuroscience June 1, 2023
- Ketamine: 50 Years of Modulating the Mind Frontiers in Human Neuroscience November 29, 2016
- Reviewing the ketamine model for schizophrenia Journal of Psychopharmacology November 20, 2013
and 40 more in the library