Ketamine

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Ketalar

Pharmacological Mechanism

Non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist (open-channel blocker) + opioid + monoamine reuptake effects. Dissociative anesthetic preserving airway reflexes. Sub-anesthetic IV / intranasal (esketamine) for treatment-resistant depression. Schedule III; recreational misuse signal.

Half-Life (t½)

IV: 2.5h, IN: 2.5h

Dosing Guidelines

• IV: Typical 1 mg (Range: 0.5–2 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• nervous
• respiratory

Pathways It Modulates

• Alzheimer disease (activator) — BDNF/TrkB (rapid; trials in AD-MDD comorbidity)
• BDNF / TrkB neurotrophic signaling (activator) — TrkB-mTOR (acute, NMDA-burst)
• Glutamate receptor pharmacology (inhibitor) — NMDA channel pore (uncompetitive)
• Kynurenine pathway (inhibitor) — rapid antidepressant — bypasses QUIN-NMDA imbalance
• Metabotropic glutamate receptors (inhibitor) — NMDA (upstream of mGluR cross-talk)

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 3821
• Formula: C13H16ClNO
• Molecular weight: 237.73 g/mol
• InChIKey: YQEZLKZALYSWHR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES: CNC1(CCCCC1=O)C2=CC=CC=C2Cl

References

• PMID 12516077