Ketamine and the Disinhibition Hypothesis: Neurotrophic Factor-Mediated Treatment of Depression.

ABSTRACT: Ketamine is a promising alternative to traditional pharmacotherapies for major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and other psychiatric conditions that heavily contribute to the global disease burden. In contrast to the current standard of care medications for these disorders, ketamine offers rapid onset, enduring clinical efficacy, and unique therapeutic potential for use in acute, psychiatric emergencies. This narrative presents an alternative framework for understanding depression, as mounting evidence supports a neuronal atrophy and synaptic disconnection theory, rather than the prevailing monoamine depletion hypothesis. In this context, we describe ketamine, its enantiomers, and various metabolites in a range of mechanistic actions through multiple converging pathway

SUBMITTER: Borsellino P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10221455 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature