BMC Psychiatry
October 7, 2026
Qianqian Wu, Weicheng Li, Zhanjie Luo et al.
Abstract Background Anhedonia, a prominent symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), severely impairs patients’ quality of life and is challenging to treat. Although esketamine has shown potential in treating anhedonia in adult treatment-resistant MDD, its effects on adolescents remain under-explored. Methods In this study, a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was...
Brain Research Bulletin
October 6, 2026
Ziyi Hua, Yongqiang Shu, Li Li et al.
INTRODUCTION: This study investigated changes in multiband amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in patients with major depressive disorder following a 2-week combination treatment regimen of esketamine and sertraline, and examined the associations between ALFF changes and clinical symptom improvement. METHODS: Forty patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) received esketamine (0.25...
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
October 1, 2026
Anita Słupska, Wiesław Jerzy Cubała, Damian Swieczkowski et al.
Objective: To synthesize evidence for intravenous racemic ketamine and regulated intranasal esketamine in adults with acute suicidal presentations; distinguish the outcomes these interventions have and have not been shown to change; and place any rapid response within a complete emergency suicide-care pathway. Methods: A narrative review of PubMed/MEDLINE-indexed literature was updated through...
Psychedelics
October 1, 2026
David S. Mathai, Brian Pilecki, Hadi Zaki et al.
In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a patented formulation and delivery method of esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). While ketamine-based treatments share similarities with serotonin 2 A receptor-mediated “classic psychedelics” like psilocybin regarding subjective drug effects and stimulation of...
Journal of Affective Disorders
September 23, 2026
Erin Curran, Kristina T. Kumpf, Mina Ansari et al.
Ketamine/esketamine produce rapid antidepressant effects, with growing interest in how acute subjective experiences and the surrounding set and setting shape clinical outcomes. Little is known about how audiovisual adjustments during ketamine/esketamine treatment influence comfort, tolerability, or patient experience, despite their common use in clinical practice. Virtual reality (VR) is one...
Journal of Personalized Medicine
September 23, 2026
Aleksandra Metelska, Wojciech Ziemichód, Hanna Karakuła-juchnowicz
Objectives: A significant problem in the treatment of depressive disorders is the growing number of cases of so-called treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is evidence of ketamine’s effectiveness in treating TRD, with response rates ranging from 40% to 90%. This review aimed to map available studies on peripheral biomarkers of response to ketamine and esketamine in the treatment of...
Discovery medicine
September 23, 2026
Jozélio Freire de Carvalho, Eduardo Pondé de Sena
Background: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) represents a major clinical challenge, being associated with high morbidity, increased suicide risk, and substantial socioeconomic burden. The need for rapidly acting interventions has driven the development of rapid-acting antidepressants (RAADs), such as ketamine, esketamine, and scopolamine. This study aimed to systematically review the...
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience
September 21, 2026
Yang Wang, Yin Li, Zhe Chen et al.
Repeated propofol exposure during neurodevelopment induces long-term cognitive deficits in rats, potentially through dysregulated hippocampal neuronal autophagy and inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Esketamine has been reported to exert neuroprotective effects; however, the underlying mechanism remains...
Molecular Psychiatry
September 19, 2026
Dijia Wang, Junnan Xu, Zhaoran Wang et al.
Hallucinations are a core feature of several psychiatric disorders, but the circuit mechanisms that separate perception from behavioral output remain poorly defined. Here, we combined an auditory discrimination task with AI-based pose analysis to quantify S-ketamine-induced false auditory threat responses and behavioral disorganization in mice. Control assays, including sucrose preference, loss...
Journal of Huntington's Disease
September 17, 2026
Carsten Saft, Julia Jessen, David Kiefner et al.
Depression and suicidal ideation are common in Huntington's disease (HD). We report a 60-year-old male with HD who suffered from treatment-resistant depression with intermittent suicidal thoughts for 20 years, irritability and apathy. Despite multiple trials of antidepressants, no sustained improvement was achieved. Under nasal esketamine treatment his mood improved dramatically after three...