Baseline monocyte count predicts symptom improvement during intravenous ketamine therapy in treatment-resistant depression: a single-arm open-label observational study.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2024 Bruno Pedraz-Petrozzi, Moritz Spangemacher, Anton Deicher et al. 6 citations
Higher baseline absolute monocyte count (AMC) predicts greater symptom improvement during intravenous ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression. In 27 participants receiving six ketamine infusions over three weeks, baseline AMC showed a strong negative correlation with depression severity change after the first infusion and before the last infusion, meaning higher monocyte levels were associated with more symptom reduction. Baseline AMC distinguished responders and partial responders from non-responders but not between partial and full responders. Absolute neutrophil count correlated weakly with early improvement, while C-reactive protein showed no correlation. AMC may serve as a simple clinical marker for predicting ketamine treatment response.