Mental Health Matters Podcast: Depression: The Case for Ketamine

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/media/2023/depression-the-case-for-ketamine?utm_campaign=75&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govd Depression: The Case for Ketamine To mark its 75th Anniversary, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is hosting a new podcast series that explores the stories behind influencers and innovators in mental health research and takes you into the lives of people with mental illnesses. Our second podcast episode, “Depression: The Case for Ketamine,” explores how a drug once used as a battlefield anesthetic evolved into esketamine, a lifesaving treatment for major depressive illnesses. In this episode, NIMH Director Dr. Joshua A. Gordon talks with Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., who helped lay the groundwork for ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. We’ll learn the history behind the development of esketamine, how it can help with depression, and what the future holds for this innovative line of clinical research.