Efficacy of ketamine therapy in the treatment of depression

Summary & key facts

Researchers gave low-dose intravenous ketamine to 25 men with severe depression who were not taking other drugs. They measured depression and anxiety before treatment, one hour after the first dose, after two weeks of treatment, and again one month after the last dose. Symptoms of depression and anxiety fell quickly — within one hour — and the improvement was still present one month later. Some people had short-lived side effects that went away within an hour. The study was small, only included men, and did not report a comparison group, so the results need confirmation in larger, more diverse studies.

Key facts:

• The study tested ketamine on 25 men with severe depression who were not taking other psychiatric drugs.
• Researchers gave a single low dose of ketamine by vein (about 0.5 mg per kg of body weight) and repeated the dose six times over two weeks.
• Depression and anxiety symptoms dropped within one hour of the first ketamine dose.
• The improvement in symptoms was still present when patients were checked one month after the last dose.
• Some patients had brief side effects after treatment, but these went away within about one hour.
• The study only included men and did not report a comparison or control group, so the findings are preliminary and need more testing.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Severe depressive disorder is among most debilitating condition. Conventional pharmacotherapy usually takes several weeks (usually 4-12 weeks) to improve symptoms. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D aspartate receptor antagonist having rapid action on depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The effect of subanesthetic dose of ketamine was assessed on depressive and anxiety symptoms. Illness severity and improvement were assessed after treatment with ketamine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five drug-free/naïve patients of the male sex, with severe depression having no previous history of psychotic disorder, head injury, organic disorder, cardiological problem, or substance abuse were admitted for the study. Assessments were made at baseline and injection ketamine hydrochloride was given at a subanesthetic dose of 0.5 mg/kg intravenous bolus after preparation. Assessments were repeated 1 h after the first dose. Six doses were given over 2 weeks and assessments were repeated. Final assessments were made after 1 month of the last dose. RESULTS: h of the first dose was seen in depression and anxiety and not for illness severity. There were transient adverse effects observed in some patients which subsided within 1 h. CONCLUSION: Ketamine has a robust and rapid effect on depression, which was seen immediately after the administration of ketamine and sustained at the end of 1 month.

Topics

Cancer Research and Treatment Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Adverse effect Anesthesia Anxiety Cognition Depression (economics) Economics Internal medicine Ketamine Ketamine hydrochloride Macroeconomics Major depressive disorder Medicine Pharmacotherapy Psychiatry

Substances

Ketamine

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression Anxiety or worry Sadness or low mood