Investigating the Effectiveness and Tolerability of Intranasal Esketamine Among Older Adults With Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): A Post-hoc Analysis from the REAL-ESK Study Group
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry July 8, 2023 Giacomo D’andrea, Stefania Chiappini, Roger S. McIntyre et al. 36 citations
Esketamine nasal spray (ESK-NS) shows preliminary effectiveness for treatment-resistant depression in adults aged 65 and older, with 53.3% of participants responding (MADRS score reduced by at least 50%) and 33.33% achieving remission (MADRS below 10) after three months. Common adverse effects included dizziness (50%), dissociation (33.3%), sedation (30%), and hypertension (13.33%). Twenty percent of participants discontinued treatment. These findings, from a post-hoc analysis of 30 older adults, suggest ESK-NS can be effective but is associated with high rates of treatment-emergent adverse events, most of which did not require stopping treatment.