Efficacy of Ketamine Therapy in the Treatment of Refractory Major Depressive Disorder
Helena van Oers
Journal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology July 25, 2023 DOI: 10.14218/jerp.2023.00023 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Dose | subanesthetic doses |
| Topics | Depression Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | The review reports that subanesthetic-dose ketamine acts rapidly against major depressive disorder, with a single dose resolving serious symptoms including suicidal ideation, unlike conventional monoaminergic antidepressants that take several weeks. The authors caution that longer-term ketamine use carries abuse potential and psychological side effects such as psychotomimetic and dissociative effects, and they argue that further research is needed. |
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and highly debilitating illness that causes significant functional impairment in many patients. Conventional pharmacotherapy, such as monoaminergic antidepressant agents, usually takes several weeks to improve symptomatology and has some adverse side effects, and in many cases, patients show clinical non-response. This has resulted in a quest to identify novel means of targeting the illness. Ketamine, a glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, has been widely researched as an alternative intervention. Originally developed as an anesthetic, ketamine has been shown to exert an antidepressant effect at subanesthetic doses. A single dose of ketamine has been shown to have a rapid effect in resolving serious depressive symptoms including suicidal ideation with antidepressant effects. However, further research is needed as, in longer-term use, ketamine has the potential to be abused and certain psychological side effects, including psychotomimetic or dissociative effects, must be considered. This review highlights some of the benefits and risks of the use of ketamine in the treatment of MDD.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on ketamine for depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Ketamine: a paradigm shift for depression research and treatment | 2019 | Review | |
| Rapid‐acting antidepressant ketamine, its metabolites and other candidates: A historical overview and future perspective | 2019 | Review | |
| Ketamine: A tale of two enantiomers | 2020 | Review | |
| Molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of arketamine: beyond the NMDA receptor | 2021 | Review |