Family history of alcohol dependence and antidepressant response to an N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate antagonist in bipolar depression
Bipolar Disorders September 14, 2012 David A. Luckenbaugh, Lobna Ibrahim, Nancy E. Brutsché et al. 69 citations
In people with bipolar depression, those who have a first-degree relative with alcohol dependence show a greater and more sustained antidepressant response to a single low dose of ketamine than those without such a family history. The study also found that individuals with a positive family history experienced fewer psychosis-like and dissociative side effects after ketamine infusion. These findings suggest that family history of alcohol dependence may help predict who benefits most from ketamine treatment and should be considered when developing new glutamatergic therapies for depression.