EFFICACY OF KETAMINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION REFRACTORY TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT

Abstract

Depression is a major public health problem and the third leading cause of disability worldwide. Around a third of patients with depression present with depression that is refractory to conventional treatment, which is responsible for worsening the patient's quality of life and causing significant suffering. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze the action of ketamine on depressive symptoms, as well as to evaluate its use in depression refractory to conventional medications. This is an integrative literature review, and the following databases were used to conduct the research: PUBMED and the Virtual Health Library (VHL), published between 2018 and 2023. A total of 12 articles were selected for the final review. Ketamine exerts its antidepressant effects by restoring network abnormalities in regions important in stress, resilience and mood regulation. Specifically, it is proposed that ketamine has the ability to improve cognitive control of emotions by improving connectivity between frontal regions and deeper limbic structures, resulting in an improvement in depressive symptoms. In this way, understanding the benefits of using ketamine in depression can provide better access and quality of life for these patients with treatment-refractory depression.