Psychological Medicine
February 12, 2016
Taishiro Kishimoto, J. M. Chawla, K. Hagi et al.
363 citations
A single intravenous infusion of ketamine reduces depression significantly more than placebo in people with major depressive disorder or bipolar depression, with effects beginning within 40 minutes, peaking at one day, and lasting up to one week. Non-ketamine NMDAR antagonists were superior to placebo only on days 5–8. Ketamine also led to greater response and remission rates at multiple time points. Adverse effects were transient and clinically insignificant, and discontinuation rates did not differ from placebo. The review analyzed 14 randomized controlled trials involving 588 participants.
The Lancet
September 1, 1994
Thomas Lempert, Michael Bauer, Dieter Schmidt
110 citations
No Summary
Pharmacopsychiatry
January 19, 2022
Hitoshi Sakurai, Kengo Yonezawa, Hideaki Tani et al.
35 citations
Nine antidepressant compounds with mechanisms beyond the monoaminergic hypothesis have shown positive results in phase II or III trials. AXS-05 (dextromethorphan and bupropion) and ansofaxine hydrochloride outperformed placebo in phase III trials for major depressive disorder or treatment-resistant depression. MIJ821, nitrous oxide, psilocybin, ayahuasca, botulinum toxin A facial injection, prasterone, and casopitant each showed at least one positive phase II result. Ayahuasca produced a greater response rate than placebo at one week, suggesting rapid antidepressant effects. These novel compounds may expand treatment options if preliminary findings are confirmed.
CNS Drugs
July 20, 2021
Vera Miriam Ludwig, Cathrin Sauer, Allan H. Young et al.
23 citations
Combining esketamine with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine in patients with treatment-resistant depression does not cause clinically dangerous blood pressure spikes, despite earlier safety concerns. In a retrospective analysis of 509 esketamine administrations in 43 hospitalized patients, those who also received tranylcypromine showed statistically greater changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the first hour after esketamine administration, but these changes were small (mean systolic increase of 2.96 mmHg versus a decrease of 8.84 mmHg in the non-tranylcypromine group) and not clinically significant. Heart rate was unaffected. A dose-response relationship was observed, with higher tranylcypromine doses linked to larger blood pressure increases, suggesting caution with high doses. The findings indicate that the combination is safe at standard doses.
JAMA Psychiatry
March 25, 2026
Wiesław Jerzy Cubała, Malek Bajbouj, Michael Bauer et al.
3 citations
A single day of treatment with an inhaled synthetic formulation of mebufotenin (GH001) significantly reduced depression symptoms in adults with treatment-resistant depression compared to placebo. In a randomized, double-blind trial of 81 patients, those receiving up to three escalating doses of GH001 showed an average 15.5-point greater improvement on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale by day 8 than those on placebo. Remission rates were 57.5% for GH001 and 0% for placebo. No severe or serious adverse events occurred. The findings suggest GH001 may be a rapid-acting, well-tolerated treatment option for treatment-resistant depression.