Journal of Affective Disorders
August 15, 2026
Michał Walaszek, Wiesław Jerzy Cubała, Zofia Kachlik et al.
Anhedonia, a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), is associated with illness severity, suicide risk, poor functioning, and predicts poor response to antidepressants. While no treatments are approved, ketamine and esketamine show promise in reducing anhedonia. This study examines clinical and sociodemographic features linked to anhedonia treatment response in treatment-resistant...
Journal of Clinical Psychology
August 1, 2026
Zhaohui Wei, Shuxin Zhang, Jia Ma et al.
This study investigates the adjunctive effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) combined with escitalopram hydrobromide on cognitive function and emotional well-being in older adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). We hypothesized that this combined approach would lead to greater enhancements in cognitive abilities and overall well-being compared to escitalopram...
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
August 1, 2026
Mengyang He, Zhifei Shi, Ruijie Zhan et al.
Depression is a complex mental disorder threatening global public health. Its pathophysiological mechanisms involve multidimensional dysfunctions including the emotional-cognitive circuit, Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, neurotransmitter systems and neuroplasticity. Current studies mostly analyze each system in isolation, lacking a unified integrated framework. This review proposes...
Journal of Affective Disorders
August 1, 2026
Ching-Hua Julie Lee, Yunzhe Qian, Weiqun Yu et al.
This study evaluated the long-term comparative effectiveness and safety of esketamine versus injectable ketamine and esketamine versus oral antidepressants for major depressive disorder (MDD). This emulated target trial utilized observational data from a cohort of U.S. adults with MDD between 2018 and 2024. Patients were categorized into those receiving esketamine, injectable R,S-ketamine, and...
Journal of Affective Disorders
August 1, 2026
João Paulo Atidio, Rodrigo Simonini Delfino, Igor Saque Garios et al.
Ketamine and esketamine have been increasingly used as adjunctive treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet evidence on pharmacological interactions with commonly prescribed psychotropic medications remains limited. This study evaluated the association between concomitant lamotrigine, lithium, and benzodiazepine use and antidepressant outcomes during subcutaneous esketamine...
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
August 1, 2026
Paul Noufi, Joshua B Borris, Danielle Chammas et al.
Patients with serious illnesses and short prognoses often experience depression and suicidal ideation. Traditional antidepressants are limited by delayed onset, creating a need for rapidly acting therapies. In this Palliative Care Rounds, we examine the evidence for ketamine/esketamine's efficacy as antidepressants, including evidence specific to people with serious illnesses. In psychiatric...
Psychiatry Research
August 1, 2026
Pietro Carmellini, Andrea Fagiolini, Mario Pinzi et al.
Intravenous ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting antidepressant intervention that has shown promising effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression, although evidence remains heterogeneous and less well established across diagnostic subtypes. Nevertheless, real-world data comparing diagnostic subtypes and sex-related differences remain limited. This observational study examined the...
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
August 1, 2026
Kengo Yonezawa, Shinichiro Nakajima, Shuhei Shibukawa et al.
Ketamine may alleviate treatment-resistant depression (TRD) primarily through glutamatergic modulation, with downstream dopaminergic activation. Iron plays an important role in monoaminergic metabolism, that is also implicated in the pathophysiology of TRD. Both Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and Effective Transverse Relaxation Rate (R2*) mapping can determine the extent of iron...
International Immunopharmacology
August 1, 2026
Jinghua Zhao, Ruxin Zhang, Jiarui Pan et al.
Depression-like behavior is closely associated with neuroinflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can activate N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and induce cellular pyroptosis and neuroinflammation, thereby triggering depression-like behavior in animals. The ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) exerts significant antidepressant-like effects without the adverse effects associated with...
Journal of Affective Disorders
August 1, 2026
Taro Kishi, Kenji Sakuma, Masakazu Hatano et al.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials aimed to investigate the temporal changes in the efficacy and safety of psilocybin treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Separate meta-analyses were conducted for standard-dose psilocybin (25 mg/session, or 20-30 mg/70 kg/session) and low-dose psilocybin (10 mg/session or 15.05 mg/70 kg/session) subgroups....
Journal of Affective Disorders
August 1, 2026
Guy M. Goodwin, Scott T Aaronson, Oscar Alvarez et al.
2 citations
The contribution of patient support to psilocybin's antidepressant effects remains uncertain. Relationships between therapeutic alliance (Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationship-Patient version; STAR-P), psychedelic experience (Five-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire and Emotional Breakthrough Inventory; 5D-ASC and EBI) and clinical outcomes (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression...