Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. The pathophysiology of schizophrenia is largely unknown, but it is understood that this mental disorder is a manifestation of genetic, environmental and biological factors. Herein, we focus on S100B, a family of calcium binding cytosolic proteins that play a profound role in glial...
To assess the impact of low-dose intravenous esketamine on postpartum depression scores in women undergoing cesarean section. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 186 women aged 20-50 years receiving epidural anesthesia for cesarean section were divided into three groups: Group A (0.25 mg/kg esketamine intraoperatively + esketamine in PCIA), Group B (0.25 mg/kg esketamine...
Background. Major depressive disorder affects 20% of the global population, with treatment-resistant depression in 10-30% of cases. Patients with acute suicidal ideation need immediate intervention, yet conventional antidepressants require weeks to work. Esketamine offers rapid symptom reduction through NMDA receptor antagonism. Aim. To systematically review current evidence on efficacy and...
PsychopharmacologyNovember 28, 2025Elifrances Galdino de Oliveira, Mayara Victória De Souza Barbosa, Diógenes Afonso De Lima et al.
Relevant to the study of neurodevelopmental disorders, maternal immune activation (MIA) models reproduce the high incidence of anxiety disorders and molecular alterations in the cerebellum reported in patients with schizophrenia and autism. In parallel, ketamine, a fast-acting antidepressant, has shown beneficial effects in psychiatric disorders with immune-related components. To investigate...
In 2019, the FDA and EMA approved intranasal esketamine for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The current study re-evaluated its efficacy and safety. This registered report presents a systematic review and individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) assessing intranasal esketamine for TRD. Two reviewers independently screened...
Nearly five years of post‐approval safety data for esketamine nasal spray have uncovered no new safety concerns associated with the formulation, an analysis has found. Most adverse events occurred during the first treatment session, with incidence decreasing over the course of treatment. Results were published online Sept. 10, 2025, in the American Journal of Psychiatry .
Depression is a debilitating mental disorder affecting millions worldwide, yet current pharmacological treatments, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), often exhibit delayed onset and limited efficacy. The chronic social defeat (CSD) stress model in mice is a well-established preclinical paradigm for inducing depression-like behaviors and evaluating antidepressants...
Psychotic disorders frequently result from repeated ketamine exposure, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We propose that repeated exposure to ketamine may induce psychotic-like behaviors via DRD1-mediated nuclear signaling pathways. Our investigation focused on phosphorylated DARPP-32 at Thr34, Thr75, and Ser97, alongside transcriptome profiling in both cell and mouse models. We...
Patients with preexisting sleep disorders face a significantly increased risk of postoperative sleep disturbance (PSD) due to heightened sensitivity to surgical stress, anesthesia, and hospital-related environmental factors. There is a critical unmet need for effective prophylactic medications to prevent PSD, as current treatment options are limited and often inadequate. This study investigated...
Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a parasomnia characterized by the perception of loud noises originating from inside the head during sleep transitions, often accompanied by visual phenomena and fear. Treatment remains challenging due to unknown etiology and limited therapeutic options. We report a 75-year-old man with chronic exploding head syndrome experiencing lightning-like sensations,...
Ketamine and its enantiomer esketamine are NMDA receptor antagonists that have shown consistent antidepressant effects in major depression disorder (MDD). These effects suggest an active role of glutamate in the pathophysiology of depression. It has been hypothesized that acute increase of glutamate neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex following treatment with (es)ketamine leads to...
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...
CureusNovember 20, 2025C.d. Bissell, Kenneth S. Rankin1 citation
Aortic dissection is a life-threatening vascular emergency, typically associated with hypertension, connective tissue disease, or stimulant drug use. Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with sympathomimetic properties, is rarely implicated in major cardiovascular events. This case report describes a 57-year-old woman with no known medical history who presented with acute altered mental status...
Introduction Metabolic and gut microbiota (GM) disturbance play a significant role in the complex pathogenesis of substance dependence. Although levo-tetrahydropalmatine (l-THP) demonstrates therapeutic potential in drug addiction, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Methods The efficacy of l-THP was assessed using a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. In this research, we...
Recent antidepressant drug development focuses on a next generation of drugs to rapidly relieve symptoms. Yet, how ketamine, the prototype rapid-acting antidepressant, maintains symptom relief days after drug elimination, and how repeated doses sustain longer-lasting therapeutic effects, remains unclear. Derived from elements of metaplasticity (synaptic priming), this review discusses a...
The aim of the study was to evaluate the practice of using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAT) in accordance with international clinical guidelines at the State Institution "Center for Mental Health and Veterans' Rehabilitation 'Lisova Polyana' of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" (Ukraine).Adapting the international clinical guidelines on ketamine therapy for treatmentresistant depression...
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...
Molecular PsychiatryNovember 18, 2025A. Arena, M. R. Rubinstein, A. M. Genaro et al.
Ketamine has emerged as a rapid and sustained treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and an alternative for patients who have not responded to traditional therapies. Its effects have been partly attributed to the noncompetitive antagonism of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) in the central nervous system, which enhances neuroplasticity. However, the etiopathology of MDD is...