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Ketamine has been available for approximately 50 years as an anesthetic agent. It is known to have potent effects on the central nervous system glutamatergic system, in particular blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Based upon pre-clinical evidence of involvement of the glutamatergic system in mood disorders, studies have been undertaken to test the antidepressant properties of ketamine. Several well-controlled studies, along with open-label case series, have established that ketamine can have rapid antidepressant effects...

BACKGROUND: We examined whether the effects of topiramate and a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs2832407) in GRIK1, which encodes a kainate receptor subunit, persisted following a 12-week, placebo-controlled trial in 138 heavy drinkers with a treatment goal of reduced drinking. During treatment, topiramate 200 mg/d significantly reduced heavy drinking days and increased the frequency of abstinent days (Am J Psychiatry, 2014, 171:445). In the European-American (EA) subsample (n = 122), rs2832407 moderated the treatment effect on heavy drinking...