Asian Journal of Medical Sciences
June 30, 2026
Raja Suhail Shounthoo, Ajaiz Rasool, Athar Un Nisa Quraishi et al.
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic introduced in the 1960s, has re-emerged as a versatile therapeutic agent extending beyond its traditional perioperative role. Its rapid antidepressant action in treatment-resistant depression and efficacy in acute and chronic pain syndromes have driven what is termed the “ketamine renaissance.” Unlike conventional monoaminergic antidepressants, ketamine...
International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology
June 30, 2026
Angelin Grace Thomas, Dhivyaprasath Palaniappan, Sagar Guruswamy et al.
Major depressive disorder, or MDD, is a common cause of disability around the world. Treatment-resistant depression, or TRD, is a tough challenge. Many people do not respond well to treatment, which increases the risk of relapse and suicide. Esketamine is a new treatment that comes as a nasal spray. It works quickly and targets a specific brain receptor. This review looks at research from...
Preprints.org
June 30, 2026
Dirk Revenstorf, Joost (j.b.c.) Mertens, Martin Schipplick
preprint
The therapeutic use of ketamine and other psychoactive substances in psychiatry is attracting growing research interest, particularly in treatment-resistant depression and related conditions refractory to conventional care. Ketamine exerts direct pharmacological antidepressant effects through NMDA receptor antagonism and downstream neuroplastic mechanisms; its combination with structured...
Current Neuropharmacology
June 30, 2026
Jiaying Wang, Rui Zhang, Yuanyuan Ma et al.
Ketamine and its structural analog, 2-Fluorodeschloroketamine, both potent stimulants, can induce euphoria but also cause neurotoxicity, cognitive decline, and neurodevelopmental deficits in the fetus. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these neurodevelopmental abnormalities are not yet fully elucidated, particularly concerning effects that are specific to certain cell types....
Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater
June 30, 2026
Cielo A Estela-Fernandez, Reem Mohamed Yousif Elsheikh, Dal Bianco Beatrice et al.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous, debilitating disorder. A distinct subgroup within the MDD spectrum is identified to have treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is an impetus to find alternative treatments for TRD to reduce disease burden and improve quality of life. Psychedelics have been used in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders since the 1950s, with...
Journal of Affective Disorders
June 29, 2026
Yao Ge, Lijuan Chen, Yu Shen et al.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) ranks among the foremost contributors to disability worldwide, yet its neurophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Excitation-inhibition (E/I) imbalance has been implicated in MDD pathophysiology, but cortex-wide E/I ratio and its molecular substrates in MDD remain unknown. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 254 MDD patients...
Anatolian Journal of Emergency Medicine
June 28, 2026
Sergey Motov
Ketamine is an indispensable therapeutic in emergency medicine, yet its pharmacologic profile carries a unique constellation of adverse effects that emergency medicine clinicians must recognize and manage. This focused clinical review examines four categories of these ketamine-specific adverse effects encountered in the emergency department (ED): acute psycho-perceptual adverse effects (PPAEs)...
Asian J Psychiatr
June 28, 2026
B. Vivekanand, Kanika Sethi, Eesha Sharma et al.
Rapid clinical improvement after intravenous ketamine in an adolescent with treatment-resistant depression, severe obesity, and pseudo-Cushing syndrome: A case report.
Behavioral and brain functions : BBF
June 28, 2026
Godson Emeka Anyanwu, Victoria Onyemachi Chukwu, Nto Johnson Nto et al.
Ketamine is an antagonist of the N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor with the effect of inducing aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neurotransmission and oxidative neurotoxicity, which mimic the cognitive impairments found in schizophrenia. This study explored the potential of mangiferin, a strong antioxidant xanthone polyphenol, to normalize neurotransmitter levels and mitigate oxidative and...
Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology and Addiction
June 25, 2026
Luca Persico, Giacomo D’andrea, Clara Cavallotto et al.
Background: Intranasal esketamine (ESK-NS) is an effective treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but whether antidepressant outcomes differ by sex and age remains insufficiently explored. Methods: This secondary analysis of the REAL-ESK study included 210 patients with TRD treated with ESK-NS in routine clinical practice and assessed at baseline (T0), one month (T1), and three...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
June 25, 2026
Joost C Van Mechelen, Tobias A Wieles, Laura Borghans et al.
Oral S-ketamine (S-KETPO) is being explored as an alternative to intravenous maintenance treatment (S-KETIV) in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, the first-pass effect with S-KETPO significantly alters S-ketamine's bioavailability and the systemic exposure of its active metabolites, raising potential safety and efficacy concerns. This study characterized the pharmacodynamic and...
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science
June 24, 2026
Irmina Grygutis, Oskar Mikołajczyk, Kornelia Julia Fimiarz et al.
Background: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is associated with substantial functional impairment, suicide risk, and health-care costs. Ketamine and its S-enantiomer, esketamine, have emerged as rapid-acting glutamatergic treatment options for TRD. Aim: This review aims to synthesize current evidence on the different ketamine administration routes for TRD, with a focus on acute and...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
June 24, 2026
Shreya Vasudeva, Gabrielle F. M. Lovell, Sabrina Wong et al.
Ketamine has emerged as a promising rapid-acting treatment for mood disorders and suicidality. Notwithstanding its replicated antidepressant efficacy, ketamine-associated risk for abuse, dependence, and misuse remain. We conducted a systematic review of clinical and preclinical studies from database inception to August 2025, including randomized and observational trials, open-label extensions,...
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
June 24, 2026
Catherine M K E De Cuba, Annika A De Goede, Joost C Van Mechelen et al.
This study aimed to investigate a set of pharmacodynamic biomarkers reflecting acute, delayed and sustained central nervous system effects of S-ketamine, used as a tool compound for rapid-acting antidepressant activity, with the goal of informing biomarker strategies for delayed antidepressant effects. In this randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, 4-way crossover study in...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 24, 2026
Kathryn Fletcher, Nadine Ezard, Krista J. Siefried et al.
Background Methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) is associated with substantial psychiatric and physical morbidity, and current treatment options remain limited. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has shown promise in substance use disorders, but little is known about how individuals experience and interpret this intervention, particularly in MAUD. Qualitative investigation may provide insight...
Journal of Education Health and Sport
June 22, 2026
Urszula Szuleta, Wiktoria Zawada, Krystian Kaczmarek et al.
Introduction and purpose. Major depressive disorder is a serious clinical problem. Current treatments are often unsuccessful, and many patients do not achieve full remission. In a reanalysis of the STAR*D study, the cumulative remission rate after up to four treatment steps was about 41%, which highlights the limitations of currently available antidepressant strategies[1]. In recent years,...
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
June 22, 2026
Qianru Jiang, Jianming Han, Eve Fine et al.
Ketamine offers rapid relief for treatment-resistant depression and severe pain in the clinic, providing immediate benefits that traditional medications often fail to deliver. While its antagonistic action at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is a key mechanism, ketamine's dual nature as both a promising treatment and a drug with abuse potential suggests its therapeutic effects extend...
UNC Libraries
June 21, 2026
Verina Guirguis
Esketamine is an effective rapid-acting pharmacological intervention for treatment-resistant depression. However, the temporal dynamics of underlying brain networks associated with the improvement of depressive symptoms remain elusive. This observational study seeks to delineate alteration in network activity within 90 minutes of nasal Esketamine administration, with a focus on exploring its...
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
June 20, 2026
Aline Freyssin, Reina Benabou, Hanna Zoe Müller et al.
Despite recent advances in neuropsychiatry, translational development for many targets remains challenging, particularly when receptors exist as families with complex subunit-dependent pharmacology and safety concerns. This is the case for NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonists. R,S-ketamine illustrates this issue: although it produces rapid antidepressant effects in the clinic, its use is limited...