Ketamine and Esketamine in Clinical Trials: FDA-Approved and Emerging Indications, Trial Trends With Putative Mechanistic Explanations.
Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics February 1, 2025 Ksenia A Vekhova, Eugenia D Namiot, Jörgen Jonsson et al. 43 citations
Between 2014 and 2024, 363 clinical trials on ketamine were registered. Most trials addressed FDA-approved uses: anesthesia (22%), pain management (28%), and esketamine for treatment-resistant depression (29%). Trials for treatment-resistant depression have reached phase III and IV. Combinations with electroconvulsive therapy, psychotherapy, virtual reality, or transcranial magnetic stimulation are common. Sub-anesthetic doses may offer new treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions involving glutamate excitotoxicity and oxidative stress, such as major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The number of ketamine studies is expected to grow, and new variants may be approved for additional indications.