Juliana Lima Constantino

Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: j.lima.constantino@umcg.nl.

2 papers in the library · 14 citations · publishing 2025-2026

Papers

Demographic and clinical predictors of response and remission in the treatment of major depressive disorder with ketamine and esketamine: A systematic review.

Psychiatry research March 1, 2025 Juliana Lima Constantino, Martijn Godschalk, Jens H van Dalfsen et al. 14 citations

About half of people with treatment-resistant depression do not respond to (es)ketamine, despite its known efficacy. This systematic review of 44 studies examined whether demographic or clinical traits predict who will respond or remit after (es)ketamine treatment. Overall, most demographic and clinical variables showed no consistent predictive value. Preliminary evidence linked better response to anhedonia, sleep disturbances, childhood physical abuse, obesity, openness, better episodic memory and visual learning, poorer neurocognitive performance, slower processing speed, and lower attention, while melancholic depression, benzodiazepine use, and metabolic syndrome were linked to worse response. These associations need replication, but suggest (es)ketamine may benefit patients with characteristics often considered hard to treat.

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116355 Full text Esketamine Major depressive disorder Treatment-resistant depression Psychopharmacology +5

Predicting changes in depressive symptomatology following oral esketamine treatment in treatment-resistant depression: A machine-learning approach.

Journal of psychiatric research June 12, 2026 Juliana Lima Constantino, Tobias Stephan Freimann, Jens H van Dalfsen et al.

Oral esketamine can be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but about half of those treated do not respond. This study tested whether sociodemographic and clinical features, including depressive symptoms and treatment resistance, could predict how much depressive symptoms would improve in 131 TRD patients receiving individually adjusted oral esketamine doses (0.5 mg/kg to 3 mg/kg) twice weekly for six weeks. Machine learning models—linear regression, elastic net, and random forest—failed to predict symptom change above chance. The findings suggest that oral esketamine may work similarly across the TRD population, regardless of treatment-resistance levels.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2026.06.013 Full text Esketamine Major depressive disorder Treatment-resistant depression Antidepressants +1