Current neuropharmacology
January 1, 2025
Gianluca Rosso, Giacomo d'Andrea, Stefano Barlati et al.
23 citations
Among patients with treatment-resistant depression who continued esketamine nasal spray for at least six months, 76.2% responded or achieved remission. Of those who had not responded by six months, a subset improved by twelve months. Side effects occurred in 71.8% of patients at six months, decreasing to 42% at twelve months; the most common were sedation and dissociation. Only two patients stopped treatment due to tolerability issues. The findings suggest esketamine is effective and safe for mid- to long-term treatment, with a novel observation of late clinical response in some patients. Results require confirmation in larger samples and longer observation periods.
CNS spectrums
December 1, 2024
Mauro Scala, Chiara Fabbri, Paolo Fusar-Poli et al.
8 citations
Psilocybin shows promise for treating mood and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder, but significant evidence gaps remain. Current studies suggest psilocybin may alleviate depression, anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, and addictive behaviors, yet comparisons with standard antidepressants or anxiolytics are lacking, and optimal dosage, long-term efficacy, and safety are unclear due to trial limitations. Real-world implementation faces challenges including infrastructural requirements, personnel training, cultural stigma, and unresolved legal and ethical issues. Larger, more rigorous studies are needed to substantiate the evidence base before psilocybin can transition from research to clinical practice.
Journal of affective disorders
December 15, 2024
Giacomo d'Andrea, Andrea Miuli, Mauro Pettorruso et al.
6 citations
In patients with treatment-resistant depression, combining vortioxetine with esketamine nasal spray reduces depressive symptoms as effectively as the standard combination of an SSRI or SNRI with esketamine. The vortioxetine combination also showed a larger reduction in emotional blunting after three months and had fewer treatment-emergent side effects. These findings come from a post-hoc analysis of twenty patients, ten in each group. The authors suggest the vortioxetine-plus-esketamine regimen may be a valuable alternative, but they call for larger randomized controlled trials to confirm the results.