Journal of ECT
January 6, 2020
Qibin Chen, Jun Dong, Jie Luo et al.
22 citations
Adding a low dose of ketamine to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for major depressive disorder does not improve overall response, remission, or relapse rates, but it does speed up the treatment's effects. Patients receiving 0.3 mg/kg ketamine before ECT required fewer sessions to achieve a response (median 4 vs. 7 sessions) and remission (median 8 vs. 9 sessions), and also reduced suicidal ideation more quickly (median 3 vs. 6 sessions). The findings suggest ketamine can accelerate the onset of ECT's antidepressant benefits without affecting long-term relapse.
Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment
January 1, 2025
Ying Zhang, Zhaojuan Ke, Jie Luo et al.
3 citations
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common and carries a high suicide risk. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is highly effective but limited by adverse effects; ketamine/esketamine can boost ECT's efficacy and safety but have their own side effects. Binaural beat music (BBM), a non-invasive therapy, may improve mood and assist (es)ketamine. This 2×2 factorial, randomized, blinded clinical trial recruits 476 MDD patients requiring ECT, randomly assigned to four groups: blank sound with saline, blank sound with esketamine, BBM with saline, or BBM with esketamine. The primary outcome is response rate measured by the Hamilton depression scale; secondary outcomes include remission, suicidal ideation, cognitive function, and side effects. The data are expected to show BBM's potential for optimizing ECT strategies and improving patient outcomes.
Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment
January 1, 2025
Zhaojuan Ke, Ying Zhang, Binyang Cai et al.
1 citation
Miscarriage and the subsequent curettage procedure increase risks of depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Ketamine and its derivative esketamine can prevent postpartum depression and treat depressive symptoms after miscarriage curettage, but side effects limit their use. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) may enhance esketamine's antidepressant effects while reducing its dosage and adverse effects. This 2×2 factorial, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial will recruit 424 women with miscarriage undergoing painless curettage, allocating them equally to four groups: placebo, esketamine alone, vitamin C alone, or vitamin C plus esketamine.
Journal of psychiatric research
January 29, 2026
Dandan Luo, Wenjun Dang, Jie Luo et al.
A systematic review of 13 clinical studies suggests that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may help improve anxiety and depression in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may relieve psychological stress and improve emotional states in their caregivers. Among adults with ASD (8 studies), MBSR showed potential for reducing emotional symptoms. For ASD caregivers (4 studies), preliminary effects included reduced stress and better emotional well-being. Only one study examined children with ASD, and none covered adolescents. The evidence is limited by small sample sizes and high heterogeneity, so conclusions should be interpreted cautiously.