Ketamine and related drugs are arguably one of the most exciting developments in antidepressant
pharmacology in more than half a century and are a potentially new mechanism capable
of mediating antidepressant action. That mechanism is the antagonism of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor (NR) and possibly one or more subtypes of that receptor.
By blocking NMDA receptors, ketamine and related drugs target glutamate, which is
the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and a transmitter not directly
affected by any currently marketed antidepressant.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Biological PsychiatryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Ketamine for depression: where do we go from here?.Biol Psychiatry. 2012; 72: 537-547
- History of CNS drug development.in: Kalali A. Preskorn S. Kwentus J. Stahl S. Essential CNS Drug Development. Cambridge University Press, New York2012: 1-14
- STAR*D project results: a comprehensive review of findings.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2007; 9: 449-459
- Pharmacokinetics and analgesic effects of IM and oral ketamine.Br J Anaesth. 1981; 53: 810-811
- Oral ketamine for the rapid treatment of depression and anxiety in patients receiving hospice care.J Palliat Med. 2010; 13: 903-908
- Oral administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist S-ketamine as add-on therapy of depression: a case series.Pharmacopsychiatry. 2010; 43: 33-35
- A comparative evaluation of intranasal midazolam, ketamine and their combination for sedation of young uncooperative pediatric dental patients: a triple blind randomized crossover trial.J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2011; 35: 415-420
- Case report: prehospital use of intranasal ketamine for paediatric burn injury.Emerg Med J. 2011; 28: 328-329
- A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot trial of the oral selective NR2B antagonist MK-0657 in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2012; 32: 551-557
- An innovative design to establish proof of concept of the antidepressant effects of the NR2B subunit selective N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist, CP-101,606, in patients with treatment-refractory major depressive disorder.J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2008; 28: 631-637
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
July 20,
2012
Received:
July 20,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Ketamine for Depression: Where Do We Go from Here?Biological PsychiatryVol. 72Issue 7
- PreviewSince publication of the first randomized controlled trial describing rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine, several reports have confirmed the potential utility of this dissociative anesthetic medication for treatment of major depressive episodes, including those associated with bipolar disorder and resistant to other medications and electroconvulsive therapy. These reports have generated several questions with respect to who might respond to ketamine, how, and for how long. To start answering these questions.
- Full-Text
- Preview
