Aim: This study aimed to estimate the economic impacts of expanded access to ketamine relative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by offering intravenous ketamine to US patients with nonpsychotic treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and moderate-to-severe depression. Materials & methods: A population-level Markov simulation model with key parameters from a randomized trial was used to simulate...
CureusJune 1, 2025Rudin Domi, Alma Cani, Asead Abdyli et al.3 citations
Ketamine is an intravenous hypnotic anesthetic that acts primarily by inhibiting N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, leading to a range of effects, including hypnosis, analgesia, anticonvulsant activity, anti-inflammatory action, and neuroprotection. Initially, there were concerns that ketamine might elevate intracranial pressure. However, these worries have since been dispelled, leading to...
Opioid-related overdose deaths have reached record high levels, and novel treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are needed. The three United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for OUD function primarily at the mu-opioid receptor. While these remain the gold-standard treatment for OUD, they have shortcomings and treatment options separate from the opioid receptor...
Ketamine-related poisonings and law enforcement seizures have been increasing in the United States, but population surveys suggest that recreational use has been rare with trends being relatively stable. This study aimed to estimate trends and correlates of use among nightclub attendees-a population known for high prevalence of party drug use. Adults entering randomly selected nightclubs in New...
Abstract Ketamine has transformed depression treatment by providing therapeutic relief within a single day, unlike monoaminergic antidepressants that require weeks to take effect. Here, we conducted whole-brain screening in mice to compare drug-evoked c-fos expression—acting as a marker of brain activity leading to protein synthesis-dependent forms of plasticity—following treatment with...
This systematic review assessed whether intranasal (IN) ketamine is as effective as intravenous (IV) opiates for adults presenting to the ED with acute severe pain. EMBASE and Medline were searched, using relevant search terms, identifying four studies relevant to our three-part question. Key findings, as well as study weaknesses, were presented in a table. In summary, our results indicate that...
TrialsMay 28, 2025Veerle De Sloovere, Liese Mebis, Pieter Wouters et al.9 citations
In severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), sedatives are often used to control intracranial pressure (ICP), to reduce brain metabolism, to allow for other treatments such as mechanical ventilation or targeted temperature management, or to control paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity. Prolonged sedation is often necessary. The most commonly used sedatives in TBI are propofol and midazolam, often in...
Recent evidence suggests that psychedelics can induce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects. The generally acknowledged explanation for these traits is the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, although the exact underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigates the effects of psilocin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) on synaptogenesis...
Abstract Objective Ketamine and esketamine have both shown significant antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and conflicting evidence suggests that dissociation induced by these drugs could be a clinical predictor of esketamine/ketamine's efficacy. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of data from a two-center, randomized, controlled trial. Participants were...
Abstract Background Ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting therapeutic option for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, its ability to sustain long-term therapeutic outcomes remains poorly understood. Identifying molecular biomarkers predictive of a sustained response to ketamine may enhance personalised treatment strategies. This study investigates the epigenetic and transcriptomic...
Cell ReportsMay 27, 2025Alexandra G Bardon, Jesus J Ballesteros, Scott L Brincat et al.8 citations
Many anesthetics cause loss of consciousness despite having diverse underlying molecular and circuit actions. To explore the convergent effects of these drugs, we examine how anesthetic doses of ketamine and dexmedetomidine affect bilateral oscillations in the prefrontal cortex of nonhuman primates. Both anesthetics increase phase locking in the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,...
Ketamine’s rapid acting symptom relief make it a promising intervention for PTSD. However, the mechanisms driving its long-term efficacy over weeks and months remain poorly understood. This study investigated the short-and long-term impacts on gene expression of a six-week subanesthetic oral ketamine trial in 23 PTSD participants (9 males, 14 females). Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs)...
TrialsMay 26, 2025Midas N de Grunt, Nurseda Risvanoglu, Johannes A Siegers et al.1 citation
Although fentanyl and esketamine, administered intravenously (IV) or intranasally (IN), are standard of care for treatment of acute traumatic pain in the prehospital setting in the Netherlands, comparative evidence regarding their efficacy and safety is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of fentanyl IN, esketamine IV and esketamine IN as compared to fentanyl...
Background: Ketamine is an increasingly popular tool for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Initially available in controlled studies at academic institutions, it is now being offered widely in the community, but little is known about how treatment is actually being delivered and if there are undetermined safety concerns. The aim of this study is to assess ketamine prescribing practices...
Increasing evidence reveals that multiple or prolonged exposure to ketamine causes hippocampal damage and cognitive dysfunction. However, the critical mechanisms underlying ketamine-induced neurotoxicity in the developing brain remain elusive. The present study was designed to investigate the role of GPX4 in ketamine-induced pyroptosis and cognitive dysfunction in the developing rat...
Most cancer patients experience severe pain, and apatinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) inhibitor, demonstrates therapeutic efficacy against gastric cancer. Ketamine, a psychotropic drug used for cancer pain relief, exhibits potential in inhibiting gastric cancer progression but is associated with dose-dependent adverse effects including neurological toxicity and...
Cell ReportsMay 21, 2025Lace M Riggs, Sage Aronson, Ta-Chung M. Mou et al.2 citations
An acute increase in excitatory synaptic transmission contributes to the rapid antidepressant actions of neuroplastogens, including ketamine and its bioactive metabolite, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK). It is hypothesized that drug-induced metaplastic changes in synaptic strength account for therapeutically relevant behavioral adaptations in vivo. Using the plasticity-deficient Wistar Kyoto...
PharmaceuticalsMay 18, 2025Przemyslaw M Waszak, Jan Opalko, Natalia Olszańska et al.9 citations
Background/Objectives: Suicide is a complex issue resulting in approximately 700,000 deaths annually. Individuals with mood disorders or schizophrenia are at an increased risk. Pharmacological interventions, such as lithium, clozapine, and ketamine, show promise in reducing suicidality. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed to identify studies...
Ketamine has a long history as an anesthetic but has recently demonstrated antidepressant effects at sub-anesthetic doses (Matveychuk et al., 2020). For individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), typical antidepressants are frequently ineffective, whereas ketamine’s unique mechanisms have demonstrated promising results in reducing depressive symptoms where other treatments have...
Choking cough during awakening from anesthesia is common (15%-94%) and can cause severe discomfort and complications, especially in neck surgery. This study compared the median effective concentration (EC50) of remifentanil combined with esketamine versus remifentanil alone for suppressing cough during extubation in male patients undergoing anterior cervical spine surgery. Group E received 0.25...