ABSTRACT: Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that has been approved for use as a clinical and veterinary anesthetic since 1970. Although esketamine, a specific molecular form of ketamine, is FDA-approved for the management of treatment-resistant depression, regular ketamine is often used off-label at subanesthetic doses to treat depression as well as other...
CureusDecember 1, 2025Demetra Solomos, Aggeliki Bairaktari, Theodoros Xanthos et al.
Introduction Axillary brachial plexus block is a widely used regional anesthesia technique for below-elbow surgeries. The use of adjuvant medications can influence block characteristics and postoperative pain experience. This randomized, prospective, single-blind comparative study aimed to evaluate whether ketamine, administered intravenously or regionally with ropivacaine, affects...
CureusDecember 1, 2025Kamran Nazir, Waqas Ahmed, Salman Rafi et al.
Ketamine-induced cholangiopathy (KIC) is a rare but increasingly recognized manifestation of chronic ketamine toxicity, often accompanied by urinary tract injury such as hemorrhagic cystitis. We report the case of a 55-year-old female with recurrent hemorrhagic cystitis and a long-standing history of intermittent recreational ketamine use who presented with asymptomatic cholestatic liver enzyme...
NursingDecember 1, 2025Rebecca Ann Ivory, Kathryn M. Pate, Brentyn M Jones et al.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 332 million people worldwide. Among those diagnosed with MDD, approximately 53% receive pharmacologic treatment, such as ketamine. Nurses must be knowledgeable about ketamine and other emerging, effective behavioral health therapies used to treat chronically depressed mood and acute suicidal ideation. This article outlines the best nursing...
Suicidality is a transdiagnostic entity in patients with and without psychiatric disorders. Ketamine is a novel treatment for treatment-resistant depression with favorable effects on related suicidality in this population. Little is known about the effects of ketamine on suicidality as a distinct phenomenon. To assess whether a dose of 75 mg intranasal (IN) ketamine reduces acute suicidality...
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...
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...
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...