Ketamine in the treatment of bipolar depression
Brazilian Journal of Health Review – January 28, 2026
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Ketamine emerges as a promising treatment for bipolar depression, which is the most common state for those with bipolar disorder. Analyzing six clinical trials published between 2010 and 2021, the findings suggest that ketamine can serve as an effective alternative when first and second-line medications fail. In these studies, ketamine demonstrated significant improvement in depressive symptoms for patients who had not responded to traditional treatments. This positions ketamine as a vital option in the evolving landscape of psychiatric medicine for bipolar disorder.
Abstract
Bipolar depression is the most prevalent state throughout the life of the bipolar patient, even so, few studies have focused on the treatment of depression in this population. Between the available medications approved for treatment of bipolar depression, ketamine is an option that must be considered. The purpose of this paper was to review the scientific evidence on the efficacy of using ketamine to treat bipolar depression either as an adjuvant or as monotherapy. This review used data collected from clinical trials published on PUBMED between 2010 and 2021. In total, six studies were found. The results show that ketamine appears to be an alternative treatment for bipolar depression if medications considered as first and second line are not effective, although future studies are necessary.