Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
May 31, 2026
Wenting Zhang, Xin Guo, Jiping Zhang et al.
Background: Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant for major depressive disorder; however, its effects are short-lasting and associated with neurotoxic side effects. Thus, identifying strategies to prolong its antidepressant effects is of critical importance. It has been shown that Dajianzhong Decoction (DJZT) prolongs the antidepressant effects of ketamine through modulation of the gut...
medRxiv Preprint Server
May 31, 2026
Yves Martins Varela, Patrícia Cavalcanti-Ribeiro, Geovan Menezes de Sousa et al.
preprint
Background Ketamine has emerged as an effective rapid-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), producing significant antidepressant effects within hours of administration. Given ketamine’s capacity to induce states of heightened neuroplasticity and psychological openness, psychotherapy may represent a meaningful complement to its pharmacological effects — facilitating...
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
May 30, 2026
Nathalia Novaretti, Rebeca Mendes P Pessoa, Jaime Eduardo Cecilio Hallak et al.
Oral ketamine has gained increasing interest beyond anesthesia, particularly for treatment-resistant depression, chronic pain, and pediatric procedural sedation. Despite expanding off-label use, there is no standardized pharmaceutical formulation, and long-term safety remains uncertain. A synthesis of evidence on safety and tolerability of the oral route is therefore needed to inform clinical...
Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy
May 29, 2026
Yogendra Singhal, Pavan Gaurav R, Sreeharsh Saji et al.
Depression is a common and serious concern in cancer patients, significantly impacting quality of life, treatment adherence, and overall prognosis. While traditional antidepressants often take weeks to exert therapeutic effects, ketamine has emerged as a potential alternative due to its rapid antidepressant action. This systematic review explores the efficacy, safety, and clinical role of...
May 27, 2026
James Phelps
A new randomized trial found serial intravenous ketamine was not significantly more effective than the active placebo midazolam in reducing depressive symptoms or improving quality of life. While the study may have been underpowered due to a small sample size (n=63), the improvement in MADRS scores fell short of the minimal clinically important difference. The study faced blinding failures,...
Research Square
May 27, 2026
Tychique T. Wasolua, Tanner J. Bommersbach, Roger S McIntyre et al.
Structural Neurotoxic and Neuroprotective Effects of Ketamine and Esketamine in Preclinical and Human Studies: A Systematic Review
Expert Opin Investig Drugs
May 26, 2026
Mina Takahashi, Richard C. Shelton
INTRODUCTION: Bipolar depression with acute suicidal ideation and behavior (ASIB) is a life- threatening manifestation of bipolar disorder (BD), with a suicide risk higher than that in other psychiatric disorders and the general population. Rapid and effective interventions are critical, as traditional therapies are often slow and frequently insufficient. Currently, no drug is approved by the...
Pharmacol Biochem Behav
May 25, 2026
Marcela Unterspann, Chrysostomos Charalambous, Martin Votava et al.
Pharmacological modulation of anxiety-like behavior by flumazenil, midazolam, and ketamine in rats: Evidence from aversive ultrasonic vocalizations and elevated plus maze.
Dijlah Journal of Medical Sciences P-ISSN 3078-3178 E-ISSN 3078-8625
May 23, 2026
Suha Adel Qasim Al-Ani
Postoperative hallucinations and other psychotropic effects are known side effects, which may be dose-dependent. Higher doses exacerbate these changes, prolonging dissociative and hallucinatory experiences postoperatively. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of ketamine different doses on postoperative hallucination (score and types). This study was applied on (62) persons including (32)...
Biomedicines
May 23, 2026
Dominik Jucha, Michał Klimas, Dominika Wiśniewska et al.
Background/Objectives: Bipolar disorder affects about 40 million people worldwide, and the greatest burden of the disease is associated with depressive episodes. About 25% of patients experience drug-resistant depression, in which standard treatment turns out to be insufficient, and monotherapy often does not bring full remission. Despite the use of second-generation antipsychotics, the...
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
May 22, 2026
Wei-Chen Lin, Li-Kai Cheng, Tung-Ping Su et al.
Shorter to be effective: subanesthetic-dose ketamine infusion reduces the global and regional path length of brain functional connectivity in patients with treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation.
Ther Adv Psychopharmacol
May 22, 2026
Liliana Patarroyo-Rodriguez, Vanessa K. Pazdernik, Jennifer L. Vande Voort et al.
Early suicidal ideation change and suicidality-associated emergency department utilization after ketamine or esketamine treatment in treatment-resistant depression.
Scientific Reports
May 20, 2026
Guan-Jie She, Wei-Chi Li, Chun-Hsiang Chou et al.
Emerging evidence shows that ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, can produce rapid anti-suicidal effects in treatment-resistant depression, yet its underlying neuropharmacological mechanisms remain elusive. The present study aimed at investigating the therapeutic effect of ketamine infusion on suicidal ideation by examining hemodynamic response changes in resting-state...
Pharmacol Rep
May 20, 2026
Aleksander Kwaśny, Alina Wilkowska, Michał Pastuszak et al.
Treatment-emergent psychiatric adverse events in patient-reported outcomes during ketamine use for major depressive disorder: a retrospective analysis.
Ther Adv Psychopharmacol
May 19, 2026
correction
Corrigendum to "Intranasal esketamine in treatment-resistant depression: long-term dosing patterns and clinical outcomes in a 5-year observational study".
British journal of hospital medicine (London, England : 2005)
May 18, 2026
Karen L Erskine, Paul I Dargan, David M Wood
Ketamine, initially developed as a dissociative anaesthetic, has seen expanding therapeutic applications, in managing treatment-resistant depression and chronic pain. However, its psychoactive properties have also been associated with a significant rise in recreational use globally. Chronic, high-dose recreational ketamine use is associated with dependence potential and a spectrum of long-term...
J Affect Disord
May 16, 2026
David S. Mathai, Madeleine Cluck, Amna M. Aslam et al.
1 citation
Interdisciplinary, Delphi-driven consensus guidelines on the use of intravenous ketamine infusions for depressive disorders from the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists, and Practitioners (ASKP3).
Asian J Psychiatr
May 16, 2026
Sonia Shenoy, Vijetha Shenoy Belle, Ravindra Neelakanthappa Munoli et al.
1 citation
Short-term effects of oral ketamine for the treatment of depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
May 14, 2026
Fabiola Raffone, Carlo Ignazio Cattaneo, Enrico Pessina et al.
Trauma-related autobiographical memories can manifest as involuntary, vivid, emotionally charged intrusions that perpetuate avoidance, negative emotions, and functional impairment. While these memories are central to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they also occur across diagnoses and are often reported in depressive disorders, including treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Although...
J Affect Disord
May 14, 2026
Joshua Curtiss, Laya Dasari, Julianne Origlio et al.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects millions globally, with approximately 30% of patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression (TRD). While ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting intervention, response rates remain variable, underscoring the need to refine precision medicine approaches for ketamine treatment. Network theories of mental health disorders have been promoted as framework...
Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr
May 13, 2026
Cornelius Schüle, Anna Sobieraj, Helena Rogg
1 citation
Abstract: Esketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist and was approved as a nasal spray in March 2019, initially in the USA and then in December 2019 in Europe, as an adjunct to antidepressant pharmacotherapy for the treatment of treatment-resistant major depression or for rapid symptom reduction in psychiatric emergency situations in patients with major depression. In addition, esketamine nasal...
Translational Psychiatry
May 12, 2026
Linda Bryant, Laith Alexander, Sergio Mena et al.
Ketamine has demonstrated rapid antidepressant efficacy in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but clinical decision-making is challenging due to variability in individual response. Current trial-and-error prescribing practices may expose patients to ineffective treatment and avoidable adverse effects, underscoring the need for reliable predictive tools to optimize treatment selection and...
Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research
May 9, 2026
Gregory Carter, Maree Hackett, Stevan Nikolin et al.
Ketamine has disputed effects on suicidal ideation scores in depressed populations. This study assessed effectiveness of ketamine in adults with treatment resistant depression, examining a secondary outcome of suicidal ideation. Phase III, double-blind, randomized, active-controlled, multicenter trial. Participants were randomized to twice-weekly subcutaneous racemic ketamine or midazolam for 4...
Psychological Medicine
May 8, 2026
Lou-Anne Chavigny, Véronique Desbeaumes Jodoin, Nicolas Garel et al.
Intravenous (IV) low-dose ketamine has emerged as a promising treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, its impact on cognitive functioning remains unclear. This systematic review examines the cognitive and executive effects of IV ketamine in TRD, focusing on their relationship to depressive and suicidal outcomes. A systematic search of Cochrane, MEDLINE,...