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Although ketamine, an antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), is a promising treatment for resistant depression (Arch Gen Psychiatry 2006; 63:856), its potential for dissociative and psychotic adverse affects is cause for concern. To find a medication with similar benefits but without the adverse effects, researchers in an industry-supported study conducted animal studies comparing ketamine to the NMDAR glycine-site partial agonist, GLYX-13.
Animals underwent standard laboratory paradigms for despair and learned helplessness, which are tests used in antidepressant studies. GLYX-13 and ketamine were significantly associated with similar antidepressant-like changes on these tests. Only ketamine was associated with impaired gat…