Pilot Study Finds Intravenous Ketamine Improves Tough-to-Treat Adolescent Depression

November 1, 2018 · Posted in Potential Treatments 

teen depression

A 2018 open study by Kathryn R. Cullen and colleagues in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology suggests that intravenous ketamine may improve depression in adolescents who have not responded to at least two antidepressants.
Thirteen patients ranging in age from 12 to 18 with treatment-resistant depression were given six ketamine infusions over a period of two weeks, at doses of 0.5 mg/kg of body weight. A 50% drop in scores on the Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) was considered a good response, and the average drop in participants’ scores was 42.5%. Five of the thirteen participants (38%) met the criteria for a good response. Three of these participants were still in remission at six weeks, while the other two relapsed within two weeks.

Ketamine was fairly well-tolerated by the young participants. Some had temporary dissociative symptoms or blood pressure changes. Higher absolute doses of ketamine were linked to better response.

The response rates in this group were not as good as in some studies of adults. More research using larger sample sizes and placebo controls is needed to optimize dosing and clarify the safety and efficacy of intravenous ketamine in adolescents with tough-to-treat depression, but this is a promising finding in a small number of adolescents.

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