Ketamine may Help Treat Depression

Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic that was developed back in 1963 in order to replace PCP, is currently used in human anesthesia and veterinary medicine. Yet a recent study shows that it also be used to boost serotonin levels that could help fight depression. 

This promising research regarding the drug shows that it increases the activity of serotoninergic neurons found in the brain that regulate motivation levels. Study authors suggest that ketamine's action on serotonin inhibitors may explain how it helps to relieve depression in some individuals.

As previous studies have found that ketamine has antidepressant action with short onset and long-term duration in patients suffering from treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, certain mechanisms underlying ketamine's action for depression relief have been relatively unclear.

After the researchers performed PET scans on rhesus monkeys, they found that ketamine works to trigger an increase in the binding of serotonin receptors 5-HT1B found in the nucleus accumbens and the central pallidum. However, it also showed a decrease in the binding of the transporter SERT that's' found in these regions of the brain.

Previous findings have linked both the nucleus accumbens and the central pallidum to motivation and depression.

In other experiments with a drug known to block the anti-depressive effects of ketamine, NBQX,  via the selective closure of the glutamate AMPA receptor, results showed the canceled action of ketamine on 5-HT1B but not the SERT binding.

Researchers believe this may be explained by an antidepressant via the boosting of the expression of postsynaptic 5-HT1B receptors.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Translational Psychiatry.