Ketamine and other N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists in the treatment of depression: a perspective review.

ABSTRACT: Current pharmacotherapies for major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar depression (BDep) have a distinct lag of onset that can generate great distress and impairment in patients. Furthermore, as demonstrated by several real-world effectiveness trials, their efficacy is limited. All approved antidepressant medications for MDD primarily act through monoaminergic mechanisms, agonists or antagonists with varying affinities for serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. The glutamate system has received much attention in recent years as an avenue for developing novel therapeutics. A single subanesthetic dose infusion of the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine has been shown to have rapid and potent antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant MDD and BDep. I

SUBMITTER: Iadarola ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4416968 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature