Ketamine - A New Antidepressant Drug with Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Ketamine is a new, potent and rapid-acting antidepressant ap-proved for therapy of treatment-resistant depression, which has a different mechanism of action than currently-available antidepres-sant therapies. It owes its uniquely potent antidepressant proper-ties to a complex mechanism of action, which currently remains unclear. However, it is thought that it acts by modulating the func-tioning of the glutamatergic system, which plays an important role in the process of neuroplasticity associated with depression. How-ever, preclinical and clinical studies have also found ketamine to reduce inflammation, either directly or indirectly (by activating neu-roprotective branches of the kynurenine pathway), among patients exhibiting higher levels of inflammation. Inflammation and immune system activation are believed to play key roles in the development and course of depression. Therefore, the present work examines the role of the antidepressant effect of ketamine and its anti-inflammatory properties in the treatment of depression.