Anti-inflammatory effects of ketamine in the treatment-resistant depression: a narrative review
Farmacja Polska February 3, 2024 Marta Jóźwiak-Bębenista, Paulina Sokołowska, Edward Kowalczyk et al.
In some patients with depression—especially those who do not respond to standard antidepressants or who have suicidal thoughts—inflammation and cytokines contribute to treatment failure. Ketamine, particularly S-ketamine, offers a fast-acting antidepressant option for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Its antidepressant mechanism is complex and not fully understood, but mainly involves modulating the glutamatergic system, which produces rapid effects and supports neuroplasticity. Recent research highlights ketamine's anti-inflammatory properties and its influence on tryptophan metabolism. This narrative review, based on literature from November 2006 to November 2023, summarizes current knowledge that preclinical and clinical studies show ketamine has anti-inflammatory effects, directly or indirectly activating neuroprotective branches of the kynurenine pathway, at least in some TRD patients.