Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Major depressive disorder affects about 350 million people worldwide. Antidepressant medications relieve symptoms in about 50% of cases, but the response rate is much lower in people who have already failed two or more adequate antidepressant trials, a condition called treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Ketamine, an older anesthetic drug, shows promise as a fast-acting antidepressant for TRD patients, though questions remain about the best route of administration, dose, and duration of action. Evidence also suggests ketamine may be effective for posttraumatic stress disorder and acute suicidal ideation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is of influence on about 350 million individuals worldwide, which is causing disability consecution and damaging consequences to the affected community and individuals. Treatments as antidepressant are affecting the system of monoamine where symptoms of depressive were relived in about 50% of cases. Such ratio turns into obviously low in depressed persons who failed already to cure following 2 or additional antidepressant drugs at sufficient duration and doses regarding it a treatment-resistant depression (TRD). There is an obvious requisite for quick action and influenced treatments. Ketamine (KMN) is considered an anesthetic old drug that has a promising quick action as an antidepressant in TRD patients with MDD, concentrating on clinical issues, i.e. administration route, dose, and action duration. Other indication proposes that KMN might be influenced in stress disorder as posttraumatic and ideation as acute suicidal.