European journal of clinical pharmacology
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Apr 2015
Population pharmacokinetics of S-ketamine and norketamine in healthy volunteers after intravenous and oral dosing.
Low-dose ketamine is a lucrative therapeutic approach in cancer pain, perioperative treatment of pain, and management of treatment-resistant depression. The analgesic potency of its main metabolite norketamine is thought to be one third that of ketamine. However, few studies exist on the pharmacokinetics of orally administered S-ketamine. ⋯ Given that the analgesic effect of S-ketamine is due to both S-ketamine and norketamine, relatively small oral doses of S-ketamine can be assumed to be a feasible alternative to repeated intravenous dosing, for example in the setting of chronic pain.