Recent studies have demonstrated that subanesthetic dose of ketamine or its S-enantiomer, esketamine, can paradoxically accelerate the recovery of consciousness in rodents following general anesthesia. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this "awakening-promoting" effect remain poorly understood. Adult C57BL/6J mice were anesthetized with propofol, 0and a low dose of esketamine (2mg/kg)...
Pharmacological ResearchNovember 22, 2025Zhuo-Ning Zhang, Xin-Yu Hao, Chen Cai et al.5 citations
This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial evaluated the efficacy of a single intravenous dose of esketamine (0.3mg/kg) administered at anesthesia induction in reducing postoperative depression and anxiety among patients undergoing cardiac valve surgery. A total of 142 patients from three centers were randomly assigned to receive esketamine or saline. The primary outcomes were the...
Purpose: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a common phenomenon and a considerable clinical challenge; recently, esketamine in conjunction with an oral antidepressant (AD) has emerged as a potential treatment for TRD. Several studies have shown the efficacy of esketamine in improving depressive symptoms. This prospective study aims to explore the long-term effects of esketamine therapy on...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychological disorder that is induced by traumatic events. The pathophysiological mechanism of PTSD involves complex neurobiological processes. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear, leading to lack of effective therapeutic interventions. Mice were exposed to the electric foot shocks using the contextual fear memory paradigm. A...
( JAMA Network Open . 2025;8(2):e2459331. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.59331) Postpartum depression (PPD) is a widespread condition affecting about 17.7% of new mothers globally, with an even higher incidence of 21.4% reported in China. Cesarean birth (CB) appears to increase the risk of developing PPD compared to vaginal births. Given the growing recognition of esketamine, a derivative of...
Perioperative (es)ketamine significantly reduces POD risk but not POND. Subgroup analyses reveal esketamine excels in delirium prevention, while racemic ketamine shows better cognitive protection.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major global health issue. Although esketamine shows promise for PPD, its preventive effect in cesarean patients with prenatal depression remains unclear. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of perioperative esketamine treatment on PPD incidence in this high-risk population. This dual-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial...
This case report describes the clinical response and safety of intranasal esketamine (Spravato®) in a 61-year-old female with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) poor response, and structural brain abnormalities secondary to left frontal lobe tissue loss from traumatic brain injury in 2008. Despite multiple antidepressant trials, atypical...
Objective: To investigate the clinical application effect of ciprofol combined with low-dose esketamine in painless gastrointestinal endoscopy. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 160 patients who underwent painless gastrointestinal endoscopy at the Digestive Endoscopy Center of Chengdu Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital from June...
This study aims to explore the relationship between the antidepressant effects of drugs (esketamine combined with sertraline) and brain function changes in patients with major depressive disorder. A total of 27 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 27 healthy individuals were included in the study. All MDD patients received a 2-week course of intravenous esketamine infusion (0.25...
Current evidence suggests that ketamine/esketamine may be effective in alleviating POF, particularly in major abdominal surgeries. These findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the heterogeneity in study designs, variations in fatigue assessment tools and time, and the limited sample sizes of the included studies. Future high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these observations and...
Ketamine exhibits superior efficacy compared to conventional antidepressants, yet its clinical application remains limited by dose-dependent side effects. Ascorbic acid (AA) augments ketamine's antidepressant-like effects, suggesting that AA co-administration with subtherapeutic ketamine doses may achieve optimal efficacy while improving safety. Since AA itself lacks independently clinical...
Research SquareNovember 11, 2025Xuming Zhu, Xiaoyong Wei, Qianyu Guo et al.
preprint
Abstract Background: The incidence of preoperative anxiety in children is significantly higher than in adults. Esketamine, the dextrorotatory enantiomer of ketamine, has been shown to alleviate preoperative anxiety in children effectively. Previous studies have established the effective dose (ED 50 ) of esketamine for reducing anxiety in pediatric patients. However, the 95% effective dose (ED...
Twice‐weekly dosing of intranasal esketamine resulted in significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared with placebo in adults with treatment‐resistant depression, a 4‐week trial has found. Esketamine doses of 56 and 84 mg both outperformed placebo in the post‐marketing trial. Study results were published online July 2, 2025, in JAMA Psychiatry.
BACKGROUND: Over the past ten years, several psychedelic compounds, including tryptamines like lysergic acid diethylamide/LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine/DMT, have been tested in clinical trials for a range of psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety and depression. While these compounds are relatively available for treatment, ketamine and its S(+) enantiomer, esketamine, are...
INTRODUCTION: Functional impairment is commonly reported amongst individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) or treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Extant evidence suggests that ketamine and esketamine, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists and glutamatergic modulators, have shown efficacy in treating MDD/TRD. While symptom reduction remains central to treatment, many...
Background: Comorbid depressive symptoms are prevalent in patients with breast cancer, which adversely impacts postoperative recovery outcomes. Esketamine has emerged as a promising intervention for perioperative depression due to its rapid and sustained effects. This study aims to investigate the impact of the continuous intravenous infusion of esketamine during the perioperative period on...
Background Ketamine and esketamine have demonstrated rapid, short-term antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder (MDD), but their relative safety remains unclear. This review aims to update the evidence on the safety of two agents for MDD and indirectly compare their safety and tolerability. Method We systematically searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and Cochrane databases up to 1 May...
Background: Depression is a common complication of Parkinson disease (PD). This study investigated whether a single dose of esketamine could alleviate depressive symptoms in an MPTP mouse model by activating G protein-coupled receptor 109 A (GPR109A) and reducing neuroinflammation. Methods: Adult male C57BL/6 J mice (8 weeks, 25–30 g) were allocated into three groups: saline,...
More than 280 million individuals worldwide suffer from depression, which is one of the main causes of mental disability. It has multiple subtypes, and conventional treatments have limitations such as slow onset of action, high non-response rate, and numerous side effects. For instance, it takes two to six weeks for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to start working, and about 30%...