Depression is a crippling problem that hijacks a patient’s neurochemistry, often making it impossible to “see the bright side.” While many potential therapeutic applications exist, there has been a longstanding quarrel between treating depression chemically or through interventions like talk therapy. While some psychiatrists are advocates for both, no silver bullet seems possible for all people who suffer from this condition.

In recent years the drug has been discovered to have notable rapid-acting effects as an anti-depressant. Despite growing anecdotal support, scientists have not had a clear understanding of how ketamine's anti-depressant effects actually work. A new study has finally solved a key part of the ketamine mystery, discovering how it triggers its anti-depressant effects.

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have identified a key protein that helps trigger ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects in the brain, a crucial step to developing alternative treatments to the controversial drug being dispensed in a growing number of clinics across the country.

UT Southwestern researchers have identified a key protein that helps trigger ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects in the brain.

The key to more effectively prescribing antidepressants may be in your blood. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a marker called the C-reactive protein, or CRP, which is found in higher concentrations in the blood of people with depression.

Researchers exploring a possible link between inflammation and depression have found that certain protein levels in the blood can predict whether an antidepressant is likely to relieve depression symptoms.