Ketamine Infusion for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder

Ketamine infusion has been shown to have rapid antidepressant properties, however the possible use of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression as augmentation has not been investigated.

The overall aim of this study is to assess the feasibility, safety and tolerability, efficacy and duration of the effect of intravenous N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist ketamine as augmentation of antidepressants for chronic suicidal ideation in subjects with severe treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

This is an open-label study (pilot).

Topic Depression Suicidality Treatment-Resistant Depression
Compound Ketamine
Country United States of America
Visit trial
Status Completed
Results Published No
Start date 04 January 2012
End date 12 January 2014
Chance of happening 100%
Phase Not Applicable
Design Open
Type Interventional
Generation First
Participants 14
Sex All
Age 18- 65
Therapy No

Trial Details

Patients will undergo two weeks of prospective observation, they will then receive ketamine IV 0.5mg/kg over 45 minutes as augmentation of their ongoing antidepressant regimen; after three infusions this dose will be increased increase to 0.75 mg/kg in non-responders. The schedule of administration will be twice a week for 3 weeks. After this phase, the patient will be followed with assessments every two weeks for three months. Total duration of the study is 5 months.

NCT Number NCT01582945

Sponsors & Collaborators

Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusettes General Hospital has launched the MGH Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics. The announcement has now been done via YouTube, and the formal launch will be in fall 2020.

Measures Used

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is a multiple item questionnaire used to provide an indication of depression, and as a guide to evaluating recovery. The scale consists of 17 items which each item being scoring on a 3 or 5 point scale. The higher the score, the more likely a person is depressed.

Data attribution

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