The purpose of this study is to test the antidepressant effect of ketamine when given repeatedly over a period of 1 week, as well as the use of Lithium as a relapse-prevention strategy for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) who respond to an initial series of ketamine infusions.
Ketamine is a Food and Drug Administration approved anesthetic (a drug used to produce loss of consciousness before and during surgery). Ketamine is not approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder and is considered experimental in this study. An additional purpose of this study is to research the effects of ketamine on brain function.
Country United States of America
Visit trial
Status
Completed
Results Published
Start date
07 January 2013
End date
11 January 2016
Chance of happening
100%
Phase
Phase II
Design
Blinded
Type
Interventional
Generation
First
Participants
34
Sex
All
Age
21- 65
Therapy
No
Trial Details
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a disabling medical illness and current monoaminergic treatments are slow to act and possess only limited efficacy. In this context, the discovery that the glutamate NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine is rapidly antidepressant (onset of action within hours) -- even in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD) -- has ignited tremendous enthusiasm among clinicians, scientists and patients alike. A critical obstacle to the translation of this discovery into a novel treatment, however, is the limited duration of action following a course of ketamine (e.g. 1-2 weeks). The current project will address this important gap in medical knowledge by testing a rational neuropharmacological strategy designed to optimize and sustain the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine. Driven by the recent characterization of the molecular mechanisms underpinning the antidepressant and neuroplasticity effects of ketamine, we will test the combination of ketamine plus lithium in patients with TRD using a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled design. The primary aims of the project are (1) to test the efficacy of lithium-plus-ketamine compared to placebo-plus-ketamine as an antidepressant combination strategy in TRD and (2) to gather data on the safety and tolerability of the lithium-plus-ketamine.NCT Number NCT01880593
Sponsors & Collaborators
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiThis company doesn't have a full profile yet, it is linked to a clinical trial.
Measures Used
Clinical Global Impression - Improvement ScaleThe Clinical Global Impression - Improvement Scale (CGI-I) is a standardized assessment scale for determining the effects of mental health treatment among psychiatric patients.
Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale
A ten-item diagnostic questionnaire used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms in patients with mood disorders.
Hamilton Anxiety Scale
The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) was one of the first rating scales developed to measure the severity of anxiety symptoms and is still widely used today in both clinical and research settings.