University of Sussex
Browse
- No file added yet -

Ketamine for depression

Download (818.78 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 03:58 authored by LA Jelen, James StoneJames Stone
Over the last two decades, the dissociative anaesthetic agent ketamine, an uncompetitive N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has emerged as a novel therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), demonstrating rapid and robust antidepressant effects within hours of administration. Ketamine is a racemic mixture composed of equal amounts of (S)-ketamine and (R)-ketamine. Although ketamine currently remains an off-label treatment for TRD, an (S)-ketamine nasal spray has been approved for use in TRD (in conjunction with an oral antidepressant) in the United States and Europe. Despite the promise of ketamine, key challenges including how to maintain response, concerns regarding short and long-term side-effects and the potential for abuse remain. This review provides an overview of the history of ketamine, its use in psychiatry and its basic pharmacology. The clinical evidence for the use of ketamine in depression and potential adverse effects associated with treatment are summarized. A synopsis of some of the putative neurobiological mechanisms underlying ketamine’s rapid-acting antidepressant effects is provided before finally outlining future research directions, including the need to identify biomarkers for predicting response and treatment targets that may be used in the development of next-generation rapid-acting antidepressants that may lack ketamine’s side-effects or abuse potential.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

International Review of Psychiatry

ISSN

0954-0261

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Issue

3

Volume

33

Page range

207-228

Event location

England

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Notes

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Review of Psychiatry on 11th February 2021, available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09540261.2020.1854194

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2022-06-20

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-06-20

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2022-06-20

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC