Drug Design, Development and Therapy
2026
Yanhong Li, Kuangyu Zhao, Peipei Cao et al.
Surgical stress can lead to postoperative anxiety and depression, especially in adolescents. These complications reduce quality of life and increase medical burdens, but perioperative psychological interventions for adolescents are limited, and related mechanisms remain unclear. Esketamine (S-ketamine), an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, has analgesic, sedative,...
Drug Design, Development and Therapy
2026
Jie Yang, Qiqi Yan, Ting Zhang et al.
Esketamine is increasingly being applied for preventing postpartum depression (PPD). However, clinical protocols for this application are inconsistent, particularly concerning the route of administration. The aim was to determine whether esketamine bolus administration differed from continuous infusion in terms of preventing PPD. A total of 503 subjects without prenatal depression undergoing...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2026
Ahmad H Almadani, Ayedh H Alghamdi, Gosay M Almazyad et al.
Esketamine is an innovative treatment for individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, its adoption could depend on the perceptions and motivations of prescribing psychiatrists, among other factors. This study aims to explore the attitudes of psychiatrists (of all levels, including those in training) across Saudi Arabia toward the use of esketamine for TRD and investigate the...
American Journal of Translational Research
2026
Ran Jing, Yuanyan Tu
To investigate the effects of single low-dose esketamine combined with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) on early postpartum depression symptoms and recovery quality in women undergoing cesarean section. This prospective, randomized, controlled study enrolled 136 women scheduled for elective cesarean section, who were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the study group (esketamine...
General Hospital Psychiatry
2026
Gabrielle F. M. Lovell, Shreya Vasudeva, Diana Orsini et al.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic with potential for treating mood, anxiety, and related disorders; however, concerns have emerged regarding hepatotoxicity in the context of chronic treatment. Systematic searches of PubMed, Scopus, and Ovid databases were conducted from inception to August 2025. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies, and case...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2026
Hang Yu, Yuqiong Zhu, Jie Wang et al.
Esketamine has a significant and rapid antidepressant effect. Although studies have shown that Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) and it's signaling pathway are associated with depression, the possible regulatory relationship of esketamine on the NRG1-ErbB4 pathway is not yet clear. To induce depressive-like behavior in mice, a Chronic Social Defeat Stress (CSDS) model was established. Behavioral indicators...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
2026
Alessandro Cuomo, Roger S McIntyre, Despoina Koukouna et al.
1 citation
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major clinical challenge, and long-term real-world data on intranasal esketamine are limited. To describe long-term dosing patterns and clinical outcomes associated with intranasal esketamine in routine clinical practice. Single-center observational cohort study with descriptive analyses. We analyzed 45 patients with TRD treated with intranasal...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2026
Haihua Tian, Zongfeng Zhang, Yan He et al.
1 citation
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is often accompanied by persistent suicidal ideation and poor response to conventional antidepressants. Intranasal esketamine, a non-selective NMDA receptor antagonist, provides rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects; transient dissociation is common, whereas ataxia-like "drunken gait" is rarely described. A 19-year-old woman with recurrent...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
2026
Michaela Krivosova, Matteo Marcatili, Gessica Guerrera et al.
Esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, is a rapid-acting antidepressant approved for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) when used in combination with an oral antidepressant. Identifying reliable clinical or genetic predictors of treatment response remains a critical unmet need. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of selected clinical and genetic variables on esketamine response in a...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
2026
Yang Qu, Shujin Li, Li Tian et al.
This study systematically evaluated the safety profile of esketamine for treatment-resistant depression through a meta-analysis, focusing on dose-dependent adverse events and associated risk factors to inform precision dosing. PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, the Mainland China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
2026
Zofia Kachlik, Wiesław Jerzy Cubała, Michał Walaszek
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and bipolar depression (TRBD) are severe, heterogeneous mood disorders associated with substantial functional impairment, elevated suicide risk and persistent unmet treatment needs. While pharmacological and psychological interventions continue to advance, many patients experience delayed, partial or unsustained benefit, underscoring the need for therapies...
European Psychiatry
2026
Andy Lu, Heidi Xu, Gia Han Le et al.
4 citations
The reported mixed findings suggest that the opioid system may exert a partial mediating effect of ketamine in TRD. However, given the inconsistent attenuation of ketamine's antidepressant effects by opioid receptor antagonists, the opioid system likely functions as a context-dependent modulator rather than a primary mediator, particularly at standard antidepressant doses.
Open Science Framework
2026
Annemarie van der Meij, Sotiris Poyiadis, Andrea Cipriani et al.
preprint
This preregistration documents an update and extension of a meta-analysis of ketamine and esketamine for adults with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD). The project is nested within an existing network meta-analysis for TRD (NMA-TRD) project, which has already been fully specified and registered: • Muit et al., BMJ Open 2022 – protocol for a systematic review and network...
PLoS One
2026
Yijun Wang, Xiaolu Lin, Xiang Zou et al.
Postoperative pain is the most notable issue after cesarean section (CS). The contributing factors include hyperalgesia, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and inflammation. In this study, we explored the effects of esketamine on pain, hyperalgesia, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and inflammation after CS. This randomized, blinded, controlled trial enrolled single-term pregnant women...
Oncology research
2026
Yuerou Feng, Panpan Tong, Shuwen Fu et al.
The efficacy of standard 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy for colorectal cancer is limited by drug resistance and adverse effects, prompting research into esketamine, a potent ketamine variant with analgesic, antidepressant, and recently discovered anti-tumor properties, to determine if it can enhance 5-FU's chemosensitivity. This study investigates whether esketamine synergizes with 5-FU to...