1
|
Johnston JN, Zarate CA, Kvarta MD. Esketamine in depression: putative biomarkers from clinical research. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-024-01865-1. [PMID: 38997425 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01865-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
The discovery of racemic (R, S)-ketamine as a rapid-acting antidepressant and the subsequent FDA approval of its (S)-enantiomer, esketamine, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are significant advances in the development of novel neuropsychiatric therapeutics. Esketamine is now recognized as a powerful tool for addressing persistent symptoms of TRD compared to traditional oral antidepressants. However, research on biomarkers associated with antidepressant response to esketamine has remained sparse and, to date, has been largely extrapolated from racemic ketamine studies. Genetic, proteomic, and metabolomic profiles suggest that inflammation and mitochondrial function may play a role in esketamine's antidepressant effects, though these preliminary results require verification. In addition, neuroimaging research has consistently implicated the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and anterior cingulate cortex in esketamine's effects. Esketamine also shows promise in perioperative settings for reducing depression and anxiety, and these effects appear to correlate with increased peripheral biomarkers such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and serotonin. Further indications are likely to be identified with the continued repurposing of racemic ketamine, providing further opportunity for biomarker study and mechanistic understanding of therapeutic effects. Novel methodologies and well-designed biomarker-focused clinical research trials are needed to more clearly elucidate esketamine's therapeutic actions as well as biologically identify those most likely to benefit from this agent, allowing for the improved personalization of antidepressant treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jenessa N Johnston
- Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Carlos A Zarate
- Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Mark D Kvarta
- Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gärtner M, Weigand A, Meiering MS, Weigner D, Carstens L, Keicher C, Hertrampf R, Beckmann C, Mennes M, Wunder A, Grimm S. Region- and time- specific effects of ketamine on cerebral blood flow: a randomized controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:1735-1741. [PMID: 37231079 PMCID: PMC10579356 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01605-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
There is intriguing evidence suggesting that ketamine might have distinct acute and delayed neurofunctional effects, as its acute administration transiently induces schizophrenia-like symptoms, while antidepressant effects slowly emerge and are most pronounced 24 h after administration. Studies attempting to characterize ketamine's mechanism of action by using blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) imaging have yielded inconsistent results regarding implicated brain regions and direction of effects. This may be due to intrinsic properties of the BOLD contrast, while cerebral blood flow (CBF), as measured with arterial spin labeling, is a single physiological marker more directly related to neural activity. As effects of acute ketamine challenge are sensitive to modulation by pretreatment with lamotrigine, which inhibits glutamate release, a combination of these approaches should be particularly suited to offer novel insights. In total, 75 healthy participants were investigated in a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group study and underwent two scanning sessions (acute/post 24 h.). Acute ketamine administration was associated with higher perfusion in interior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), but no other investigated brain region. Inhibition of glutamate release by pretreatment with lamotrigine abolished ketamine's effect on perfusion. At the delayed time point, pretreatment with lamotrigine was associated with lower perfusion in IFG. These findings underscore the idea that regionally selective patterns of CBF changes reflect proximate effects of modulated glutamate release on neuronal activity. Furthermore, region- specific sustained effects indicate both a swift restoration of disturbed homeostasis in DLPFC as well changes occurring beyond the immediate effects on glutamate signaling in IFG.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matti Gärtner
- Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Andreas Wunder
- Translational Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Simone Grimm
- Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Medeiros GC, Matheson M, Demo I, Reid MJ, Matheson S, Twose C, Smith GS, Gould TD, Zarate CA, Barrett FS, Goes FS. Brain-based correlates of antidepressant response to ketamine: a comprehensive systematic review of neuroimaging studies. Lancet Psychiatry 2023; 10:790-800. [PMID: 37625426 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(23)00183-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Ketamine is an effective antidepressant, but there is substantial variability in patient response and the precise mechanism of action is unclear. Neuroimaging can provide predictive and mechanistic insights, but findings are limited by small sample sizes. This systematic review covers neuroimaging studies investigating baseline (pre-treatment) and longitudinal (post-treatment) biomarkers of responses to ketamine. All modalities were included. We performed searches of five electronic databases (from inception to April 26, 2022). 69 studies were included (with 1751 participants). There was substantial methodological heterogeneity and no well replicated biomarker. However, we found convergence across some significant results, particularly in longitudinal biomarkers. Response to ketamine was associated with post-treatment increases in gamma power in frontoparietal regions in electrophysiological studies, post-treatment increases in functional connectivity within the prefrontal cortex, and post-treatment increases in the functional activation of the striatum. Although a well replicated neuroimaging biomarker of ketamine response was not identified, there are biomarkers that warrant further investigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo C Medeiros
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Malcolm Matheson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Isabella Demo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthew J Reid
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Claire Twose
- Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gwenn S Smith
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Todd D Gould
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Carlos A Zarate
- Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, NIMH-NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Frederick S Barrett
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Fernando S Goes
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kim WSH, Dimick MK, Omrin D, Mitchell RHB, Riegert D, Levitt A, Schaffer A, Belo S, Iazzetta J, Detzler G, Choi M, Choi S, Herrmann N, McIntyre RS, MacIntosh BJ, Orser BA, Goldstein BI. Proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial of single-session nitrous oxide treatment for refractory bipolar depression: Focus on cerebrovascular target engagement. Bipolar Disord 2022; 25:221-232. [PMID: 36579458 DOI: 10.1111/bdi.13288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There remain few efficacious treatments for bipolar depression, which dominates the course of bipolar disorder (BD). Despite multiple studies reporting associations between depression and cerebral blood flow (CBF), little is known regarding CBF as a treatment target, or predictor and/or indicator of treatment response, in BD. Nitrous oxide, an anesthetic gas with vasoactive and putative antidepressant properties, has a long history as a neuroimaging probe. We undertook an experimental medicine paradigm, coupling in-scanner single-session nitrous oxide treatment of bipolar depression with repeated measures of CBF. METHODS In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, 25 adults with BD I/II and current treatment-refractory depression received either: (1) nitrous oxide (20 min at 25% concentration) plus intravenous saline (n = 12), or (2) medical air plus intravenous midazolam (2 mg total; n = 13). Study outcomes included changes in depression severity (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores, primary) and changes in CBF (via arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging). RESULTS There were no significant between-group differences in 24-h post-treatment MADRS change or treatment response. However, the nitrous oxide group had significantly greater same-day reductions in depression severity. Lower baseline regional CBF predicted greater 24-h post-treatment MADRS reductions with nitrous oxide but not midazolam. In region-of-interest and voxel-wise analyses, there was a pattern of regional CBF reductions following treatment with midazolam versus nitrous oxide. CONCLUSIONS Present findings, while tentative and based on secondary endpoints, suggest differential associations of nitrous oxide versus midazolam with bipolar depression severity and cerebral hemodynamics. Larger studies integrating neuroimaging targets and repeated nitrous oxide treatment sessions are warranted.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William S H Kim
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mikaela K Dimick
- Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Danielle Omrin
- Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rachel H B Mitchell
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel Riegert
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anthony Levitt
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ayal Schaffer
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Susan Belo
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - John Iazzetta
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Mabel Choi
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen Choi
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nathan Herrmann
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Roger S McIntyre
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Bradley J MacIntosh
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Beverley A Orser
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Benjamin I Goldstein
- Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zavaliangos-Petropulu A, Al-Sharif NB, Taraku B, Leaver AM, Sahib AK, Espinoza RT, Narr KL. Neuroimaging-Derived Biomarkers of the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 8:361-386. [PMID: 36775711 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder. Despite an extensive range of treatment options, about a third of patients still struggle to respond to available therapies. In the last 20 years, ketamine has gained considerable attention in the psychiatric field as a promising treatment of depression, particularly in patients who are treatment resistant or at high risk for suicide. At a subanesthetic dose, ketamine produces a rapid and pronounced reduction in depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, and serial treatment appears to produce a greater and more sustained therapeutic response. However, the mechanism driving ketamine's antidepressant effects is not yet well understood. Biomarker discovery may advance knowledge of ketamine's antidepressant action, which could in turn translate to more personalized and effective treatment strategies. At the brain systems level, neuroimaging can be used to identify functional pathways and networks contributing to ketamine's therapeutic effects by studying how it alters brain structure, function, connectivity, and metabolism. In this review, we summarize and appraise recent work in this area, including 51 articles that use resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging, arterial spin labeling, positron emission tomography, structural magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, or magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study brain and clinical changes 24 hours or longer after ketamine treatment in populations with unipolar or bipolar depression. Though individual studies have included relatively small samples, used different methodological approaches, and reported disparate regional findings, converging evidence supports that ketamine leads to neuroplasticity in structural and functional brain networks that contribute to or are relevant to its antidepressant effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Artemis Zavaliangos-Petropulu
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
| | - Noor B Al-Sharif
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Brandon Taraku
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Amber M Leaver
- Department of Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ashish K Sahib
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Randall T Espinoza
- Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Katherine L Narr
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Pavlova I, Drazanova E, Kratka L, Amchova P, Macicek O, Starcukova J, Starcuk Z, Ruda-Kucerova J. Laterality in functional and metabolic state of the bulbectomised rat brain detected by ASL and 1H MRS: A pilot study. World J Biol Psychiatry 2022; 24:414-428. [PMID: 36102141 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2022.2124450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Pilot study validating the animal model of depression - the bilateral olfactory bulbectomy in rats - by two nuclear magnetic resonance methods, indirectly detecting the metabolic state of the brain. Furthermore, the study focussed on potential differences in brain laterality. METHODS Arterial spin labelling assessed cerebral brain flow in prefrontal, sensorimotor, and piriform cortices, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, thalamus, circle of Willis, and whole brain. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy provided information about relative metabolite concentrations in the cortex and hippocampus. RESULTS Arterial spin labelling found no differences in cerebral perfusion in the group comparison but revealed lateralisation in the thalamus of the control group and the sensorimotor cortex of the bulbectomized rats. Lower Cho/tCr and Cho/NAA levels were found in the right hippocampus in bulbectomized rats. The differences in lateralisation were shown in the hippocampus: mI/tCr in the control group, Cho/NAA, NAA/tCr, Tau/tCr in the model group, and in the cortex: NAA/tCr, mI/tCr in the control group. CONCLUSION Olfactory bulbectomy affects the neuronal and biochemical profile of the rat brain laterally and, as a model of depression, was validated by two nuclear magnetic resonance methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Iveta Pavlova
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Drazanova
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Kratka
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Amchova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Macicek
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Starcukova
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zenon Starcuk
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|