by Jon Hamilton Posted on NPR.ORG April 11, 2019 The anesthetic ketamine can relieve depression in hours and keep it at bay for a week or more. Now scientists have found hints about how ketamine works in the brain. In mice, the drug appears to quickly improve the functioning of certain brain circuits involved in…

Highlights: • The new evidence of ketamine ameliorates the depressive-like behaviors in stressed rats.• proBDNF/mBDNF ratio provide novel perspectives and potential targets for the development of effective therapeutic intervention for depression.• The potential antidepressant mechanism of ketamine likely occurs through activating the tPA-BDNF pathway to produce protective effects. Abstract: Some studies have indicated that ketamine has a rapid antidepressant effects, but…

Researchers observed no long-term adverse effects in a small sample of patients with severe and treatment-resistant mood disorders who received ketamine infusions as clinical treatment. Although the response and remission rates after a four-infusion protocol were lower than those reported in most clinical trials, the small size and racial homogeneity of the study population limit…