Efficacy of ketamine therapy in the treatment of depression
Indian Journal of Psychiatry January 1, 2019 Suprio Mandal, VinodKumar Sinha, Nishant Goyal 92 citations
Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, produced a rapid improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms in 25 drug-free men with severe depression. Improvement was observed within one hour of the first subanesthetic dose (0.5 mg/kg intravenous bolus) and was sustained one month after the last of six doses given over two weeks. Illness severity did not improve. Transient adverse effects occurred in some patients but resolved within an hour. The findings suggest ketamine has a robust and rapid antidepressant effect, though the study lacks a control group and is limited to men.