Ketamine: repurposing and redefining a multifaceted drug. Academic Article

abstract

• This short review will highlight recent clinical and basic research that supports the therapeutic utility of ketamine as a rapid-acting, life-saving antidepressant and a versatile analgesic. After 50 years of use as a dissociative anesthetic and misuse as a street drug, ketamine has re-emerged as a useful off-label agent for ameliorating various types of pain and resistant depression. In addition to its ability to inhibit N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, the diverse actions of ketamine might involve epigenetic mechanisms such as microRNA regulation. Thus, ketamine is transitioning from being the pharmacologist's nightmare to one of the most interesting developments in the pharmacology of depression and pain.

authors

• Choudhury, Mahua

published proceedings

• Drug Discov Today

altmetric score

• 13.75

author list (cited authors)

• Potter, D. E., & Choudhury, M.

citation count

• 37

complete list of authors

• Potter, David E||Choudhury, Mahua

publication date

• December 2014

publisher

• Elsevier  Publisher

published in

• Drug Discovery Today  Journal
• Drug Discovery Today  Journal

keywords

• Analgesics
• Anesthetics, Dissociative
• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Antidepressive Agents
• Drug Repositioning
• Humans
• Ketamine
• Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate

PubMed Central ID

• 25224017

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1016/j.drudis.2014.08.017

start page

• 1848

end page

• 1854

volume

• 19

issue

• 12

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2014.08.017