International Journal of Molecular Sciences
April 16, 2026
Norihiro Okada, Kenshiro Oshima, Akiko Maruko et al.
Clinically robust molecular biomarkers for depression have remained elusive, despite extensive transcriptomic research. This gap is consequential: depression is prevalent and heterogeneous, yet objective measures to quantify burden, stratify patients, and track recovery remain limited. Here, we review evidence that intron retention (IR) can serve as a homeostatic state variable-and therefore a...
Pain Management
April 16, 2026
Theresa R. Lii, Pilleriin Sikka, Ben Deverett et al.
INTRODUCTION Ketamine shows promise for treatment-refractory chronic pain and depression, but randomized trials risk unblinding from ketamine's acute dissociative effects. Propofol sedation may mitigate this, though it has not been prospectively tested as a masking strategy outside of surgical contexts. METHODS This protocol describes a single-center, randomized, double-blind,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
April 16, 2026
Minna Chang, Allan H. Young, Mario F Juruena
Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have reported impressive antidepressant effects of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). While ketamine has been compared with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the gold standard treatment, the extent and durability of its antidepressant effects over longer periods remain unclear. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review...
Journal of Intensive Care Medicine
April 16, 2026
Vrutti Patel, Saurabh Sujanyal, Lekhya Raavi et al.
BackgroundKetamine has demonstrated efficacy in treatment-resistant depression, primarily in psychiatric or outpatient populations. Its use in ICU patients remains underexplored, with limited data beyond case reports and small series. This study evaluated the association between subanesthetic ketamine infusions and improvement in depressive symptoms and hemodynamic changes in ICU...
Journal of Affective Disorders
April 15, 2026
Gia Han Le, Sabrina Wong, Danica E. Johnson et al.
4 citations
Ketamine and esketamine exhibit rapid antidepressant effects in persons with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and bipolar depression (TRBD). However, the synaptic mechanisms governing dose, frequency, and durability of response remain unclear. This review aims to evaluate the dosing parameters, including minimum dose and optimal dosing intervals, that reliably induce or maintain long-term...
Journal of Affective Disorders
April 15, 2026
Jen-Ping Chen, Chih-Wei Hsu, Yi-Ting Chen et al.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and esketamine are FDA-approved treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet head-to-head comparative effectiveness data remain limited. Our study compared the effectiveness and safety profiles of rTMS versus esketamine in adults with TRD. This cohort study used target trial emulation with 1:1 propensity score matching on 50...
Translational Psychiatry
April 10, 2026
Ting-Hui Liu, Hong-Shiang Shen, Jheng-Yan Wu et al.
1 citation
This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of esketamine in adults with Major depressive disorder (MDD), focusing on suicide-related events, all-cause mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). This target-trial simulation used the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network. Adults (≥ 18 years) with MDD who received either esketamine or a conventional...
Reviews on recent clinical trials
April 7, 2026
Ritika Saun, Aakriti Garg, Mohd Ashif Khan
Most of the Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients experience Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD), wherein standard pharmaceutical and psychological interventions fail to provide adequate symptom relief. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the efficacy and safety of intranasal esketamine for rapid symptom relief in adults with TRD. The search strategy adhered to PRISMA...
Yixue xinzhi zazhi
April 2, 2026
Yao Wenzhuang, Zhang Hanyun, Liu Suman et al.
Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Esketamine on postpartum depression (PPD) in cesarean section women.Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, WanFang and VIP were searched from inception to March 2025 for RCTs investigating the impact of Esketamine on PPD in cesarean section parturients. RevMan 5.4 and Stata 18.0...
FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry
April 1, 2026
Rachel Fremont, Marcella Corwin, Greta Kandel et al.
Over the past 25 years, the field of psychiatry has seen a rapid expansion of ketamine treatment services offered for the off-label management of depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of intranasal esketamine, the S-enantiomer of ketamine, for treatment-resistant depression and suicidal depression. In this review, the...