Ketamine as Potential Agent for Teenagers with Treatment-Resistant Depression

Adolescents administered with ketamine intravenously for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) showed positive therapeutic effects after treatment, reports a new study. A significant average reduction in the Children's Depression Rating Scale (42.5%) is seen in the teenagers who received the treatment. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology . The article entitled "Intravenous Ketamine for Adolescents with Treatment-Resistant Depression: An Open-Label Study" was co-authored by Kathryn Cullen, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, and a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota, Hennepin County Medical Center (Minneapolis, MN), and Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN).

The study participants were young adults aged 12-18 years who had failed two previous trials of antidepressants. They received six ketamine infusions over two weeks. The treatment was well tolerated.

Based on the Children's Depression Rating Scale scores, 38% of participants met the criteria for clinical response and remission.

"The field is excited about a potential new agent for adolescents with treatment-resistant depression. We look forward to additional studies of ketamine to validate this treatment," says Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology and President of the Child Mind Institute in New York.

Source-Eurekalert