3D atomic-level snapshots reveal ketamine binds to human opioid receptors

Ketamine, a drug approved for medical use in 1970 as a short-acting anesthetic, including during the Vietnam War for battlefield surgery, is still a pharmacological mystery. For a long time, scientists knew that ketamine, which is highly valued for treating severe pain and treatment-resistant depression, primarily works by blocking NMDARs, major receptors in the brain. However, this didn't fully explain why ketamine provides rapid pain and depression relief while drugs with similar actions didn't.

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