General Psychiatry
August 1, 2020
Abdullah Ramadan, I. Mansour
16 citations
Ketamine, an NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist approved by the FDA in 2019, offers a potential treatment for the 53% of patients with major depressive disorder who remain symptomatic after standard therapy. It is used for treatment-resistant depression, depression with suicidal ideation, mood and anxiety disorders, and bipolar depression. Side effects include psychiatric worsening, dissociation, cardiovascular changes, headache, and dizziness. This study measured ketamine's effects on treatment-resistant MDD patients and analyzed how its mechanism differs from and may be safer than other antidepressants like SSRIs, MAOIs, and TCAs.
General Psychiatry
December 1, 2019
Éric Bui, Franklin King, Andrew Melaragno
14 citations
Progress in developing new medications for anxiety and stress-related disorders has been limited over the past 30 years, but researchers are now investigating novel molecular pathways beyond the traditional monoamine systems. Enhancing psychotherapy with pharmacological compounds could transform the standard of care and introduce a paradigm shift in how medications are conceptualized in psychiatric treatment. More human trials and translational research are needed, but pursuing innovative mechanisms is expected to yield substantial results and move beyond the reliance on 20th-century chemical agents.
General Psychiatry
June 18, 2020
Xiao-Mei Li, Zhan-Ming Shi, Hua Hu et al.
13 citations
A meta-analysis of four randomized controlled trials (239 participants) compared ketamine alone or ketamine plus propofol against propofol alone in patients with major depressive disorder receiving a single electroconvulsive therapy session. Ketamine alone and the combination showed greater improvement in depressive symptoms at days 1, 3, and 7 after treatment, and were associated with longer seizure duration and higher seizure energy index. Ketamine alone also increased eye-opening time. However, the overall quality of evidence was very low or low, indicating a need for higher-quality trials.