Ketamine ameliorates postpartum depression-like behaviors in rats exposed to sevoflurane during pregnancy through the AMPK/SIRT1/NLRP3 pathway

Key Points

• Ketamine treatment significantly reduces postpartum depression-like behaviors in rat models, highlighting its potential as an intervention.
• In this study, ketamine effectively decreased scores of depression, with a notable improvement observed within two weeks.
• Assessment using behavioral tests linked the effectiveness of ketamine to the AMPK/SIRT1/NLRP3 pathway, suggesting a biochemical mechanism at work.
• These findings support the use of ketamine for potential therapeutic applications, especially considering the limitations of existing postpartum depression treatments.