Ketamine and depression: a mechanism of the antidepressant revealed

Researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne University and clinicians from the AP-HP and at Paris Brain Institute identified one of the mechanisms explaining ketamine effect as an antidepressant. Ketamine, usually used as an anesthetic, was administered to patients with severe resistant depression. This treatment led patients to present an increased ability to overcome their negative beliefs about themselves and the world when researchers presented them positive information. These results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, open new therapeutic avenues for the management of antidepressant-resistant mood disorders.

Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder: it is estimated that 5 to 15% of the French population will experience a major depressive episode during their lifetime. All age groups and all social backgrounds are affected.

The disease is characterized by sadnexx and loss of hedonic feelings that positive events do not improve. Depressed patients progressively develop negative beliefs about themselves, the world, and the future, that may develop into suicidal thoughts. These negative beliefs remain even when the patient receives positive information.

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