Effect of Baseline Anxious Depression on Initial and Sustained Antidepressant Response to Ketamine
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry September 25, 2014 Dawn F. Ionescu, David A. Luckenbaugh, Mark J. Niciu et al. 111 citations
Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder who also have high anxiety (anxious depression) responded better to a single infusion of ketamine than those without high anxiety, contrary to expectations based on traditional antidepressants. Over 28 days of follow-up, the anxious group showed significantly fewer depression symptoms at multiple time points and relapsed much later (median 19 days versus 1 day). No significant differences in side effects were observed. These results suggest that ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, may be especially effective for the anxious depression subtype, which is typically difficult to treat with standard antidepressants.