Copper and anti-anhedonic effect of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression

Abstract

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains one of the major psychiatric challenges worldwide. Search for non-monoaminergic agents, possibly effective in treatment of TRD is of prime importance. One of those agents is ketamine – a dissociative, anesthetic drug exhibiting a fast antidepressant action in patients with TRD. Concurrently, anhedonia appears to be significant symptom domain with far-reaching impact on course of treatment. There is data demonstrating that abnormal copper levels might be associated with symptoms of depression. As there is common denominator in ketamine and copper role in neurotransmission this paper is to explore the associations of blood copper levels and psychometric measures in patients with TRD in course of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP), focusing on anhedonia measured with Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) score.