The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
April 1, 2025
Alene Sze Jing Yong, Suzie Bratuskins, Musa Samir Sultani et al.
16 citations
An umbrella review of 14 systematic reviews (20 primary studies, up to 353 participants) evaluating MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder found that meta-analyses reported substantial benefits in symptom improvement, response, and remission compared to psychotherapy alone. However, when reviews assessed certainty of evidence, it was rated low to very low due to high risk of bias, indirectness, and imprecision. Moderate-quality evidence linked MDMA-assisted therapy to increased odds of transient adverse events, but reviews noted reliance on spontaneous rather than systematic reporting, discrepancies between published and registry data, and a lack of long-term safety information. The four high-quality reviews indicate low to very low certainty for efficacy and moderate to very low for safety.
The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
February 1, 2024
Anthony Rodgers, Dilara Bahceci, Christopher G Davey et al.
8 citations
The repurposing of generic racemic ketamine for severe depression has been delayed and uncoordinated for over 20 years due to insufficient commercial incentives, while a patented intranasal formulation (Spravato) gained widespread registration through substantial commercial investment. Spravato costs $600-$900 per dose compared to about $5 per dose for generic ketamine, and an annual government investment of approximately AUD$100 million in Australia was rejected twice, leaving the treatment largely inaccessible. Emerging evidence suggests generic ketamine is at least as effective as Spravato, but no comparative trials have been conducted. Without systemic reforms—including commercial incentives, public funding, reduced regulatory barriers, and coordinated international support—this pattern will repeat with new psychedelic treatments.
The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology
February 4, 2025
Yingliang Dai, Ben J Harrison, Christopher G Davey et al.
6 citations
Ketamine, a fast-acting antidepressant, works by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. While its molecular mechanisms are known, its large-scale neurocognitive effects are less clear. This synthesis links ketamine treatment to changes in brain systems for reward processing, interoception, and self-related cognition. The authors suggest that ketamine's antidepressant effects arise from dynamic, multi-level influences across these functional domains.