Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Electroconvulsive Therapy01:30

Electroconvulsive Therapy

41
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or shock therapy, remains a critical biomedical intervention for severe, treatment-resistant depression. While its origins can be traced back to Hippocrates' observations that malaria-induced convulsions alleviated mental illness, modern ECT has evolved significantly from its earlier, more primitive applications. First introduced in 1938 by Ugo Cerletti and his colleagues, ECT involves inducing controlled seizures using electrical currents. In its early...
41
Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents01:23

Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents

247
Atypical antidepressants, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), mirtazapine (Remeron), nefazodone (Serzone), trazodone (Desyrel), and vilazodone (Viibryd), offer unique mechanisms of action. Bupropion weakly inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake, aiding depression treatment and smoking cessation, with a low risk of sexual dysfunction. Mirtazapine enhances serotonin and norepinephrine neurotransmission, leading to sedation, increased appetite, and weight gain. As a result, it helps treat...
247
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents01:17

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents

179
Sedatives and hypnotics encompass a wide range of substances, each with its unique mechanism of action, uses, and potential adverse effects.
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...
179
Drug Therapy01:28

Drug Therapy

45
The advent of drug therapy has profoundly shaped modern mental health care, providing targeted treatments for a range of psychological disorders. Psychotherapeutic drugs, classified into antianxiety, antidepressant, and antipsychotic medications, address symptoms across anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. While these medications have transformed patient outcomes, they require careful management due to their potential side effects and limitations.
Antianxiety Medications
45
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview01:24

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

130
Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.
130
Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview01:23

Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview

397
Sedatives are drugs that alleviate anxiety, while hypnotics induce sleep. Both classes of medication suppress neuronal activity, leading to a calming effect for sedatives and facilitating sleep for hypnotics.
Sedative-hypnotics are categorized into barbiturates, benzodiazepines (BZDs), and non-benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. These drugs work by suppressing central nervous system activity, and this suppression is dose-dependent. Older sedative medications, like barbiturates, follow a linear curve in...
397

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Psychedelics Trials and Outcomes-A Closer Look.

JAMA psychiatry·2026
Same author

Evaluating the abuse liability of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorders: A systematic review.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)·2026
Same author

The Serotonin 2B (5-HT2B) Receptor: A Narrative Review of Preclinical and Clinical Evidence on the Safety Considerations and Therapeutic Potential for the Treatment of Depression.

Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics·2026
Same author

Esketamine for major depressive disorder: pharmacokinetics and toxicological considerations.

Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology·2026
Same author

Semaglutide and Effort-Based Decision-Making in Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA psychiatry·2026
Same author

Intranasal Ketamine for Existential Distress in Advanced Cancer.

Journal of pain and symptom management·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression
04:29

Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression

Published on: January 7, 2019

28.6K

Augmentation in depression: Esketamine, a new standard?

Joshua D Rosenblat1, Roger S McIntyre1

  • 1University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Med (New York, N.Y.)
|December 9, 2023
PubMed
Summary

New research shows esketamine is superior to quetiapine for treatment-resistant depression augmentation. This finding offers a more effective option for patients who haven't responded to other treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Pharmacology
  • Clinical Trials

Background:

  • Augmentation therapies are used for treatment-resistant depression.
  • Existing add-on treatments show benefits over placebo but not over established interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of esketamine versus quetiapine as augmentation therapy in treatment-resistant depression.

Main Methods:

  • Phase IIIb, randomized, active-controlled trial (ESCAPE-TRD).
  • Patients with treatment-resistant depression received either esketamine or quetiapine as augmentation.

Main Results:

  • Esketamine demonstrated superiority compared to quetiapine augmentation.
  • This is the first add-on treatment to show superiority over a previously available intervention.

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Therapeutic Benefit of Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation in Depression Treatment
05:19

Author Spotlight: Therapeutic Benefit of Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation in Depression Treatment

Published on: July 7, 2023

2.3K
Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
09:07

Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Published on: August 15, 2017

12.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression
04:29

Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression

Published on: January 7, 2019

28.6K
Author Spotlight: Therapeutic Benefit of Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation in Depression Treatment
05:19

Author Spotlight: Therapeutic Benefit of Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation in Depression Treatment

Published on: July 7, 2023

2.3K
Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
09:07

Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Published on: August 15, 2017

12.1K

Conclusions:

  • Esketamine represents a significant advancement in treating resistant depression.
  • The findings suggest esketamine may become a new standard of care for this patient population.