The Nine Lives of Ketamine: From CI-581 to Present Day Clinical Application-Commentary on Domino et al.
Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics June 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1002/cpt.3634 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe first clinical report and first-in-human study of the drug that became ketamine is described. Ketamine serves as an analgesic, anesthetic, antidepressant, and drug of misuse, and remains the only dissociative anesthetic. It has challenged classical pharmacologic theory and drug development paradigms, with its initial report unable to foresee the molecule's pharmacologic complexity or clinical utility.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | First-in-human study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human |
| Keywords | Anesthesia Medicine Psychopharmacology Mental health Drug development |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key finding | The first clinical report of ketamine (then CI-581) introduced a drug that would become a dissociative anesthetic with multiple uses, challenging classical pharmacology and drug development. |
Abstract
The classic article by Domino et al. was the first clinical report and presented the first-in-human study of what would become the drug ketamine. Ketamine has become an analgesic, anesthetic, antidepressant, and drug of misuse. It remains today the only "dissociative anesthetic". It has challenged classical pharmacologic theory and drug development paradigms. The first report on CI-581 could never have envisioned the pharmacologic complexity or clinical utility of this molecule.