Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
November 15, 2019
Katrina Witt, Jennifer Potts, Anna A.m. Hubers et al.
203 citations
A single infusion of ketamine may reduce suicidal thoughts in people with treatment-resistant depression within four hours, and the effect can last up to 72 hours. The analysis combined 15 randomized controlled trials with 572 participants, mostly with mood disorders. At four hours after infusion, suicidal ideation scores dropped significantly (standardized mean difference -0.51), and the reduction persisted through 72 hours (standardized mean difference -0.57 to -0.63 at different intervals) but not beyond. Results varied widely across studies, and evidence quality was moderate to low. There were almost no data on whether ketamine prevents actual suicide attempts or self-harm. Further trials are needed to confirm these findings and find ways to sustain the anti-suicidal effect.
Eur Neuropsychopharmacol
November 7, 2025
Mikkel Højlund, Helin Y. Kafali, Begüm Kırmızı et al.
12 citations
A living systematic review with meta-analysis examined the efficacy, safety, and all-cause discontinuation of serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA for treating mental disorders. The review found that these substances show promise in reducing symptoms of conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with some evidence supporting their therapeutic potential. However, the authors note that the overall quality of evidence is limited by small sample sizes, short follow-up periods, and methodological concerns. Safety profiles varied, with most adverse events being mild to moderate, though serious adverse events were reported in some studies. The review emphasizes the need for larger, more rigorous trials to confirm these findings.
The British Journal of Psychiatry
March 30, 2026
Katharine A. Smith, Edward Harcourt, Andrea Cipriani
1 citation
Psychedelics like psilocybin are being explored as a new treatment for depression, but their use requires psychological support alongside the drug. There is debate about the exact role of this support and who should deliver it, which affects how these treatments could be implemented in public health services like the National Health Service. The authors outline a model for delivering psychological support in publicly funded settings and call for further research to identify the essential elements of support. They emphasize that implementation must be based on high-quality evidence and ensure equitable access for all patients, not just those who can pay.
Open Science Framework
January 1, 2026
Annemarie van der Meij, Sotiris Poyiadis, Andrea Cipriani et al.
This preregistration describes an update and extension of a meta-analysis examining ketamine and esketamine for adults with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. The project is nested within a larger network meta-analysis of next-step strategies for treatment-resistant depression. It restricts interventions to ketamine and esketamine regimens versus placebo, structures outcomes into three time windows (24–72 hours, 1–3 weeks, and 4–12 weeks), and pools results using pairwise random-effects meta-analyses rather than network meta-analysis due to expected lack of direct comparisons between treatment nodes. Short-term outcomes will be extracted from longer-term trials. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses are exploratory.