Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

3 papers

Efficacy and Safety of Flexibly Dosed Esketamine Nasal Spray Combined With a Newly Initiated Oral Antidepressant in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Double-Blind Active-Controlled Study

Vanina Popova, Ella Daly, Madhukar H. Trivedi, Kimberly Cooper, Rosanne Lane, Pilar Lim, et al.
American Journal of Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2019 839 citations

Researchers tested a nasal spray form of esketamine together with a newly started oral antidepressant in adults whose depression had not improved after trying at least two antidepressants. Over four weeks, people who got esketamine plus a new antidepressant had faster and larger drops in depression symptoms than those who…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders Ketamine

Single, Repeated, and Maintenance Ketamine Infusions for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Jennifer L. Phillips, Sandhaya Norris, Jeanne Talbot, Meagan Birmingham, Taylor Hatchard, Abigail Ortiz, et al.
American Journal of Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2019 396 citations

Repeated ketamine infusions have cumulative and sustained antidepressant effects. Reductions in depressive symptoms were maintained among responders through once-weekly infusions. These findings provide novel data on efficacious administration strategies for ketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Future studies should further expand on optimizing administration to better translate the use of…

Mental Health Research Topics Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Adjunctive Ketamine With Relapse Prevention–Based Psychological Therapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Meryem Grabski, Amy McAndrew, Will Lawn, Beth Marsh, Laura Raymen, Tobias Stevens, et al.
American Journal of Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2022 152 citations

This study demonstrated that treatment with three infusions of ketamine was well tolerated in patients with alcohol use disorder and was associated with more days of abstinence from alcohol at 6-month follow-up. The findings suggest a possible beneficial effect of adding psychological therapy alongside ketamine treatment.

Alcoholism and Thiamine Deficiency Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders
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