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Brain Sciences May 2023Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder comprising positive, negative, and cognitive impairments. Most of the animal models developed to understand the... (Review)
Review
Investigating the Robustness of a Rodent "Double Hit" (Post-Weaning Social Isolation and NMDA Receptor Antagonist) Model as an Animal Model for Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review.
Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder comprising positive, negative, and cognitive impairments. Most of the animal models developed to understand the neurobiology and mechanism of schizophrenia do not produce all the symptoms of the disease. Therefore, researchers need to develop new animal models with greater translational reliability, and the ability to produce most if not all symptoms of schizophrenia. This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the rodent "double hit" (post-weaning social isolation and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist) model to produce symptoms of schizophrenia. This systematic review was developed according to the 2020 PRISMA guidelines and checklist. The MEDLINE (PubMed) and Ebscohost databases were used to search for studies. The systematic review is based on quantitative animal studies. Studies in languages other than English that could be translated sufficiently using Google translate were also included. Data extraction was performed individually by two independent reviewers and discrepancies between them were resolved by a third reviewer. SYRCLE's risk-of-bias tool was used to test the quality and biases of included studies. Our primary search yielded a total of 47 articles, through different study selection processes. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Ten of the seventeen studies found that the "double hit" model was more effective in developing various symptoms of schizophrenia. Most studies showed that the "double hit" model is robust and capable of inducing cognitive impairments and positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
PubMed: 37371328
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13060848 -
The American Journal of Drug and... Mar 2023Although the misuse of ketamine constitutes a worldwide issue, ketamine is quickly taking its place as a therapeutic option in the management of several mental...
Although the misuse of ketamine constitutes a worldwide issue, ketamine is quickly taking its place as a therapeutic option in the management of several mental disorders. However, the use of ketamine and/or its analogues, as well as combinations with other drugs, can be fatal. To outline the cases of overdoses and deaths related to the use of ketamine and/or its analogues, as reported in the scientific literature. To investigate if ketamine is safe in a therapeutic context, particularly in its use as an antidepressant. Electronic searches were performed on three medical databases. Articles describing cases of overdose and/or death associated with ketamine and/or its analogues were included. After the removal of duplicates, title analysis and full-text analysis, 34 articles were included in this review. Eighteen articles described fatal cases and sixteen described overdoses. Poly-substance use was mentioned in 53% of the selected articles. Most cases were males and the ages varied from two to 65 years old. A total of 312 overdose cases and 138 deaths were reported. In both death reports and overdose cases, ketamine was preponderant: 89.1% and 79%, respectively. No cases of overdose or death related to the use of ketamine as an antidepressant in a therapeutic setting were found; most of the deaths occurred in the circumstances of polydrug use and overdoses left no sequelae. There is legitimate concern about the risks involving the use of ketamine and its analogues, especially in recreational settings. On the other hand, ketamine as medicine is considered safe and it is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization. Although clinicians must remain vigilant, this should not deter appropriate prescription.
Topics: Male; Humans; Child, Preschool; Child; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Middle Aged; Aged; Female; Ketamine; Drug Overdose; Substance-Related Disorders; Analgesics, Opioid
PubMed: 36410032
DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2022.2132506 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Sep 2019Ketamine is a phencyclidine intravenous anaesthetic that blocks N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and HCN channels in the CNS. Lately it has gained acceptance in a low-dose... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Ketamine is a phencyclidine intravenous anaesthetic that blocks N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors and HCN channels in the CNS. Lately it has gained acceptance in a low-dose form, with studies showing an analgesic benefit in orthopaedic surgery. Our goal was to critically appraise and synthesise current evidence regarding use of low-dose ketamine in major, painful orthopaedic surgeries.
METHODS
We conducted searches in Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and specialty journals for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared low-dose ketamine to placebo. Primary outcomes included total opioid use, time to first opioid, and VAS pain scores. Meta-analyses were undertaken in RevMan software using a random effects model. We rated the quality of the evidence using the GRADE Working Group criteria.
RESULTS
We included 20 studies across four subgroups for meta-analysis. The overall quality of the evidence was moderate. Ketamine significantly decreased total opioid use and pain scores (VAS) at 24 and 48 h (Opioid: standardised mean difference [SMD] -0.82 [-1.24, -0.40], p=0.0001, and -0.65 [-1.03,-0.27], p=0.0008; VAS: SMD -0.53 [-0.91, -0.15], p=0.006 and -0.60 [-1.05, -0.16], p=0.008), and delayed the time to first opioid dose (SMD 0.64 [0.01, 1.27], p=0.05). Results for nausea and hallucinations were equivocal, whereas results for chronic pain were inconclusive. The most prominent effects were seen in total joint operations.
CONCLUSION
Low-dose ketamine is an effective adjuvant that decreases pain and opioid requirements in painful orthopaedic procedures, especially in the first 24 h after procedure. Future research should focus on arthroscopic procedures and the incidence of chronic pain.
Topics: Analgesics; Analgesics, Opioid; Anesthetics, Dissociative; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Therapy, Combination; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Ketamine; Orthopedic Procedures; Pain Measurement; Pain, Postoperative
PubMed: 31327465
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2019.05.043