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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04226963

A Naturalistic Study of Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders

This study aims to openly test the long-term safety, tolerability and effectiveness of repeated administration of IV, nasal spray and oral ketamine for treatment-resistant mood disorders.

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Key information

Age range

18 year–90 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Gdańsk

Gdansk, 80-952, Poland

About this study

Current pharmacological treatments for depression prove unsatisfactory efficacy with a proportion of subjects demonstrating treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The observation applies both to major depressive disorder (MDD) as well as bipolar I depression. There is growing evidence that the glutamatergic system plays a role in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. Discovery of rapid, although transient antidepressant effect of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist used in a single sub-anaesthetic intravenous dose in unipolar, bipolar and treatment-resistant patients provides evidence for a glutamatergic antidepressant. Subsequent studies confirmed this effect in repeated doses. Further research demonstrated that repeated ketamine infusions result in sustainable antidepressant effect with both, twice-weekly and thrice-weekly administration schedules. However, the worsening of depression may occur after infusions are completed. Given the risk of relapses, there is a definite need for the development of new strategies to maintain the beneficial effects of ketamine treatment. In the present study, the investigators aim to openly assess the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of repeated, individually tailored IV, nasal spray and oral ketamine for treatment-resistant mood disorders. The investigators intend to explore questions regarding optimal dose, treatment frequency and duration.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD) diagnosis as provided by DSM-5 criteria
  • TRD defined as the patient does not reach remission within the 8 week trial of an antidepressant or combination at a therapeutic dose of at least two trials of first-line evidence-based treatments and/or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Exclusion criteria

  • Pregnancy and lactation
  • Hypersensitivity to ketamine
  • Uncontrolled hypertension
  • Other uncontrolled somatic diseases that may impact safety per investigators judgement

Treatment and study plan

ketamine

Drug

Ketamine will be infused (slow IV infusions of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) over 40 minutes) twice weekly over a period of 4 weeks) Ketamine will be given in intranasal spray twice weekly over a period of 4 weeks Ketamine will be given orally (solution 2.0mg/kg, 2.5mg/kg) twice weekly over a period of 4 weeks.

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence of adverse events assessed by Clinical-Administered Dissociative Symptoms Scale (CADSS)

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events will be assessed by Clinician-Administered Dissociative Symptoms Scale (change from baseline to each measure). Higher values represent a worse severity, but not necessarily outcome. The Clinical-Administered Dissociative Symptoms Scale has 23-items based on dissociative symptoms during the assessment. Each item is scored 0 (normal) to 4 (severe symptoms) with overall score ranges from 0 (normal) to 92 (severe symptoms). Total number of assessments:18 times

  2. Incidence of adverse events assessed by 4-items positive symptoms subscale of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events will be assessed by 4-items positive symptoms subscale of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (change from baseline to each measure). Higher values represent a worse severity but not necessarily outcome. The 4-item positive symptoms subscale of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale has 4-items based on conceptual disorganization, suspiciousness, hallucination and unusual thought content. Each item is scored 0 (normal) to 6 (severe symptoms) with overall score ranges from 0 (normal) to 24 (severe symptoms). Total number of assessments:18 times

  3. Incidence of adverse events assessed by body temperature (oral measurements)

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by body temperature (oral measurement) in Celsius degree - change from baseline to each measure. A normal range is from 36.2 to 38.0 Celsius degrees; measurements beyond those ranges are clinically significant. The total number of measurements: 44 times

  4. Incidence of adverse events assessed by blood pressure

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by blood pressure (after the participant has rested for at least 5 minutes) in mmHg - change from baseline to each measure. A normal range for systolic blood pressure is from 90 to 140 mmHg, for diastolic blood pressure is from 50 to 90 mmHg; measurements beyond those ranges are clinically significant. The total number of measurements: 44 times

  5. Incidence of adverse events assessed by respiration rate

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by respiration rate in a breath number per minute - change from baseline to each measure. A normal range for respiration is from 12 to 16 breaths per minute; measurements beyond those ranges are clinically significant. The total number of measurements: 44 times

  6. Incidence of adverse events assessed by pulse

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by pulse (beats per minute [bpm]) - change from baseline to each measure. A normal range for pulse is from 60 to 90 bpm; measurements beyond those ranges are clinically significant. The total number of measurements: 44 times

  7. Incidence of adverse events assessed by blood oxygen saturation

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by blood oxygen saturation in percentage - change from baseline to each measure. A normal range for blood oxygen saturation is from 95 to 100 percentage; measurements under 95% are clinically significant. The total number of measurements: 44 times

  8. Incidence of adverse events assessed by weight

    Time frame: Baseline and week 5

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by weight in kilograms- change from baseline to each measure. Gain weight for 7% baseline weight is clinically significant. Total numbers of assessments: 2. Weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2

  9. Incidence of adverse events assessed by height

    Time frame: Baseline

    Incidence of adverse events assessed by height in meters. Total numbers of assessments: 1. Weight in kilograms and height in meters will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in severity of depression symptoms assessed by Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)

    Time frame: Baseline through week 5

    Change in severity of depression symptoms from baseline to each measure. Higher values represent a worse severity, but not necessarily outcome. The MADRS has 10-items which are based on mood symptoms over the past 7 days. Each item is scored 0 (normal) to 6 (severe depression) with overall score ranges from 0 (normal) to 60 (severe depression).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Medical University of Gdansk

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Naturalistic Study of Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders: Gdansk Depression Ketamine Project

Acronym: GDKet

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jan 13, 2020
Registry last updated
Sep 28, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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