Background: Bipolar disorder represents a significant source of morbidity and elevated mortality risk. Ketamine has emerged as a powerful antidepressant; however, there have been few trials of ketamine in bipolar depression and no trials with esketamine in bipolar depression, and few data exist from real-world settings. Here, we report outcomes from a cohort of patients with bipolar depression...
Intravenous (IV) ketamine and intranasal (IN) esketamine are novel therapies to manage treatment resistant depression within major depressive disorder (MDD-TRD). This is a multi-site observational study aiming to assess the real-world effectiveness and tolerability of these novel therapies in the management of MDD-TRD. 53 patients were referred to receive IV ketamine (n = 26, 69.23 % female,...
Anhedonia, defined as a significant loss of interest or pleasure, is one of the core symptoms of treatment- resistant depression (TRD) and is often associated with poor prognosis. This article primarily investigates the changes in anhedonia symptoms, inflammatory markers, and cortisol levels in TRD patients after low-dose esketamine treatments. A total of sixty patients with TRD were enrolled...
About one-third of patients with depression do not achieve adequate response to current treatment options. Although intravenous and intranasal administrations of (es)ketamine have shown antidepressant properties, their accessibility and scalability are limited. We investigated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of generic oral esketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)...
Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is a racemic mixture of esketamine and arketamine used to treat unipolar and bipolar depression. Preliminary reports indicate that it may be beneficial for depressed patients reporting symptoms of anhedonia. In this systematic review we aim to assess and analyze the existing body of evidence regarding the therapeutic effects of ketamine on...
In the United States (US), prescription drug coverage is subject to prior authorization (PA) criteria, which may vary between health plans and may exceed drug label requirements. This study aimed to characterize profiles and treatment history of patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) who initiated esketamine nasal spray, by stringency of their health plans' PA criteria relative to...
JAAPASeptember 1, 2024Carolyn F Kundert, Robert M Sobule, Muaid Ithman1 citation
Esketamine, the s(+) enantiomer of ketamine, was approved in 2019 as the first rapid-acting intranasal spray medication for treatment-resistant depression; the drug is given in combination with an antidepressant. The treatment is self-administered in a clinical setting under the supervision of a healthcare provider and usually is well tolerated. Many of its adverse reactions are mild,...
PharmaceuticalsAugust 30, 2024Junhyung Kim, Seung-Hoon Lee, Cheolmin Shin et al.8 citations
This study assesses the early effectiveness of esketamine nasal spray (ESK) in adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) 1 day after the first administration, as monitored through self-assessment via the mobile application, Esketamine Continuing Assessment for Relapse Prevention (EsCARe). In this multi-center, open-label, single-arm study, adults aged 18-65 years diagnosed with TRD after...
European PsychiatryAugust 27, 2024L. Carrión Expósito, G. Chauca Chauca, R. Galan Armenteros et al.
Introduction Major depressive disorder is a common psychiatric condition affecting around 264 million people worldwide (WHO: Depression Fact Sheet. [Apr;2021]). Despite pharmacological advances, many patients still do not respond to antidepressant treatment or do so partially. It is estimated that only 50-70% of patients respond to the initial antidepressant treatment according to the STAR-D...
The development of postpartum depression has been linked to fluctuations in the levels of neurotransmitters in the human body, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (Norepinephrine, NE), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Research has indicated that the antidepressant effect of esketamine are mediated by monoamine transmitters and neurotrophic factors....