( JAMA Network Open . 2025;8(2):e2459331. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.59331) Postpartum depression (PPD) is a widespread condition affecting about 17.7% of new mothers globally, with an even higher incidence of 21.4% reported in China. Cesarean birth (CB) appears to increase the risk of developing PPD compared to vaginal births. Given the growing recognition of esketamine, a derivative of...
Perioperative (es)ketamine significantly reduces POD risk but not POND. Subgroup analyses reveal esketamine excels in delirium prevention, while racemic ketamine shows better cognitive protection.
Ketamine was shown to promote synaptogenesis, which is thought to account for its antidepressant effects through the restoration of lost synaptic connections observed in depression. PET imaging using 11C-UCB-J, a radiotracer targeting the synaptic vesicle protein 2 A (SV2A), was investigated as a translational method to monitor ketamine-induced changes in synaptic density in the corticosterone...
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is associated with worse clinical outcomes and longer course of illness. However, TRD is more difficult to model in animal phenotypes, suggesting that other experimental and translational models must be considered to properly address and research novel therapeutics. Reelin, an endogenous glycoprotein downregulated in depression, has shown rapid...
Pain Management NursingNovember 18, 2025Erika Grattidge, Derrick Glymph, Virginia C Simmons et al.
Chronic pain is highly prevalent among Veterans and contributes to poor surgical recovery. This pilot quality improvement project evaluated a structured postoperative ketamine infusion program at a Veterans Affairs medical center. Veterans with chronic pain undergoing complex surgery received low-dose ketamine infusions (0.2 mg/kg/hr) for 24-72 hours postoperatively. The Quality of Recovery-15...
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major global health issue. Although esketamine shows promise for PPD, its preventive effect in cesarean patients with prenatal depression remains unclear. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effect of perioperative esketamine treatment on PPD incidence in this high-risk population. This dual-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial...
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a significant medical challenge, with available therapeutic approaches having limited efficacy. Emerging data suggest that psychedelic compounds could represent an alternative treatment for AUD. Among this class of molecules, ketamine, a dissociative psychedelic, shows promising properties. It reduces alcohol drinking in rodents and in humans it is used to...
This case report describes the clinical response and safety of intranasal esketamine (Spravato®) in a 61-year-old female with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) poor response, and structural brain abnormalities secondary to left frontal lobe tissue loss from traumatic brain injury in 2008. Despite multiple antidepressant trials, atypical...
Objective: To investigate the clinical application effect of ciprofol combined with low-dose esketamine in painless gastrointestinal endoscopy. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 160 patients who underwent painless gastrointestinal endoscopy at the Digestive Endoscopy Center of Chengdu Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital from June...
This study aims to explore the relationship between the antidepressant effects of drugs (esketamine combined with sertraline) and brain function changes in patients with major depressive disorder. A total of 27 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 27 healthy individuals were included in the study. All MDD patients received a 2-week course of intravenous esketamine infusion (0.25...
This study evaluated intramuscular (IM) ketamine's efficacy and safety for rapid suicidal ideation reduction, addressing the critical need for fast-acting interventions in resource-limited settings where intravenous (IV) options are impractical. We conducted a pre-post-interventional study of IM ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) over one year after approval of the institutional ethics committee. Adult...
Current evidence suggests that ketamine/esketamine may be effective in alleviating POF, particularly in major abdominal surgeries. These findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the heterogeneity in study designs, variations in fatigue assessment tools and time, and the limited sample sizes of the included studies. Future high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these observations and...
Ketamine exhibits superior efficacy compared to conventional antidepressants, yet its clinical application remains limited by dose-dependent side effects. Ascorbic acid (AA) augments ketamine's antidepressant-like effects, suggesting that AA co-administration with subtherapeutic ketamine doses may achieve optimal efficacy while improving safety. Since AA itself lacks independently clinical...
Research SquareNovember 11, 2025Xuming Zhu, Xiaoyong Wei, Qianyu Guo et al.
preprint
Abstract Background: The incidence of preoperative anxiety in children is significantly higher than in adults. Esketamine, the dextrorotatory enantiomer of ketamine, has been shown to alleviate preoperative anxiety in children effectively. Previous studies have established the effective dose (ED 50 ) of esketamine for reducing anxiety in pediatric patients. However, the 95% effective dose (ED...
Psychedelic-assisted interventions are emerging as potential treatments for substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). While recent randomized controlled trials suggest efficacy for certain psychedelics and related compounds in treating AUD, the impact of naturalistic psychedelic use on problematic alcohol consumption remains underexplored. This study examines associations...
Ketamine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist, which alters the state of wakeful consciousness at high doses. At lower doses, it induces reversible psychotic-like symptoms and has been used as a pharmacological model of psychosis. In this study, we explore whether low doses of ketamine disrupt conscious access in relation with its psychotomimetic effects, and investigate the neural correlates of its...
EpigenomicsNovember 7, 2025Ivana Leccisotti, M. Moretti, Mario Altamura et al.
AIM Ketamine antidepressant effects go beyond immediate receptor action, involving lasting transcriptional and epigenomic changes that support its rapid, long-lasting benefits. The present systematic review synthesized existing preclinical and clinical evidence on the epigenetic mechanisms of ketamine in the treatment of depression. METHODS A comprehensive search of three electronic databases...
Ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) achieve rapid remission in treatment-resistant depression. However, their mechanisms of action—the understanding of which is essential for refining therapeutic precision—remain unclear1, 2–3. Here, using mouse models, we identify adenosine signalling as a central pathway that underlies the antidepressant effects of these interventions. Results from...
PsychopharmacologyNovember 5, 2025Milad Soltanzadeh, Wang Zheng, Shona G. Allohverdi et al.1 citation
RationaleKetamine and psilocybin have demonstrated therapeutic potential for mental disorders, including major depressive disorder, yet they engage distinct mechanisms of action. Ketamine, a dissociative hallucinogen, acts by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), whereas psilocybin primarily targets serotonin receptors. These divergent mechanisms are reflected in their...