Ketamine lifts depression via a byproduct of its metabolism

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

NIH-funded team finds rapid-acting, non-addicting agent in mouse study.

A chemical byproduct, or metabolite, created as the body breaks down ketamine likely holds the secret to its rapid antidepressant action, National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and grantees have discovered. This metabolite singularly reversed depression-like behaviors in mice without triggering any of the anesthetic, dissociative, or addictive side effects associated with ketamine.