Chinese scientists find how ketamine can help beat depression

SHANGHAI: Scientists in Shanghai have found the molecular mechanism for how ketamine can treat depression as a rapidly acting antidepressant.

This is expected to pave the way for the development of ketamine-based anti-depressants and more precise therapies for patients. The research, led by Zhu Shujia at the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, focused on the binding of ketamine and the N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor, reported international media.

NMDA receptors are a major class of excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the brain that gate the entry of calcium, an important signaling molecule. When the NMDA receptor is activated by glutamate, the channel opens to allow calcium to flow inside the neuron and when the NMDA receptor is too active, more calcium ions are allowed in and cause loss to the cortex and hippocampus, resulting in brain disorders such as depression.

Zhu has been studying on NMDA receptors for more than 15 years and started researching about depression two years ago as a friend said her 70-year-old aunt committed suicide after feeling uncomfortable for half a year without diagnosis of any diseases.

"Her symptoms were very like depression, professionally termed as major depressive disorder, which affects about 16 percent of the world population and even leads to suicide, but her family didn't know," she said.

"As a scientist, I think we bear the responsibility to help the public be more aware of the fact that depression is a kind of psychiatric disorder, rather than a psychological problem. And we also have to find better solutions to treat it."

As for treatment, clinical studies found antidepressants targeting the monoamine system require prolonged treatment over weeks or months, and are ineffective in one-third of patients.