Age affects temporal response, but not durability, to serial ketamine infusions for treatment refractory depression
medRxiv Preprint Server August 31, 2020 Steven Pennybaker, Brian J Roach, Susanna L Fryer et al. preprint
Older age is associated with slower and less durable antidepressant responses to intravenous ketamine in veterans with treatment-refractory depression. The study found that age-related declines in neuroplasticity may attenuate ketamine's mechanism of action, which involves glutamatergic signaling and synaptogenesis. Older patients took longer to achieve a clinically meaningful reduction in depression symptoms and were more likely to relapse sooner after the infusion series ended. The findings suggest that age is a key patient characteristic influencing the speed and durability of ketamine's antidepressant effects.