Efficacy of Repeated Ketamine Infusions for Treatment-resistant Depression

April 23, 2024 updated by: VA Office of Research and Development

Intravenous Sub-anesthetic Ketamine Treatment in Treatment-Resistant Depression

About one-third of depressed patients will not get better after multiple antidepressant treatments. This situation put a high burden on patients with depression due to worsening quality of life and increasing health care costs. Difficult-to-treat depression might be even worse among Veterans given that the frequency of depressive symptoms is 2 to 5 times higher than among the general US population. A breakthrough discovery happened in recent years when investigators found that one infusion from an old anesthetic named ketamine showed high efficacy and rapid antidepressant effect (sometimes within hours) but lasted only up to a week. The investigators propose to study if multiple infusions of ketamine can provide greater and longer antidepressant effects than one infusion. If that is the case, multiple infusions could be an alternative to relieve depressive symptoms that do not response to multiple antidepressant drugs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Recent studies have found rapid and highly efficacious antidepressant effects of a single ketamine infusion in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, a single infusion appears insufficient to maintain response as most patients return to previous depressive state within a week. The strategy of multiple infusions to increase efficacy and sustain antidepressant effects has not yet been systematically evaluated in an randomized control trial (RCT). The proposed study is a one-center, interventional, efficacy study designed to determine antidepressant outcomes of serial ketamine infusions compared to a single ketamine infusion among Veterans with TRD. The investigators have hypothesized that six infusions will be superior to a single infusion of ketamine in both decreasing severity of depressive symptoms and maintaining response. Participants will be male/female Veterans (18 to 75 years old) of any era or military background who suffer from TRD defined as failure to achieve remission from at least 2 antidepressant trials of different pharmacological classes. Potential participants will be recruited from Mental Health clinics and screened for eligibility using a two stage process (phone/chart review, followed by interview). Exclusion criteria includes post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis-related disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol/substance use disorder 6 months prior to screening; unstable medical illness; serious/imminent suicidal/homicidal risk; Parkinson's disease, dementia, seizures; traumatic brain injury; contraindicated medications (e.g., MAO inhibitors, barbiturates); received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during current episode; pregnancy/nursing. Baseline assessments will be completed 1-2 weeks prior to starting treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two parallel treatment conditions: 1) six ketamine infusions at 0.5 mg/kg or 2) single ketamine infusion at 0.5 mg/kg preceded by five midazolam infusions at 0.045 mg/kg. Midazolam was chosen as an active placebo given similar pharmacokinetics and dissociative effect profile to ketamine. Each intervention will be provided for a total of 12-day infusion-phase on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. The, follow-up visits will occur at weekly intervals for the first 4 weeks, at 2-week intervals for the next 8 weeks, and at 4-week intervals for the remaining 12 weeks or until relapse. The primary end point is the Montgomery- sberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score 24 hours following the last infusion where the peak antidepressant effects of ketamine occur. Secondary outcomes for the treatment phase include remission defined by MADRS<10, and response defined as a reduction in the baseline MADRS score 50%. For the follow-up period, durability of antidepressant response will be defined by "time to relapse" to a MADRS score <50% of baseline at that visit. Independent evaluation of depressive symptom severity and potential covariates of antidepressant effect (e.g., pain intensity, level of anxiety) will be ascertained at baseline, at several time points during infusion period, and at follow-up. On the day of infusion, subjects will arrive in the morning after an overnight fast. Hemodynamic measures will be recorded every 10 min for 1 hour beginning 10 min before infusion. Subjects will then receive IV infusion over 40 minutes. Severity of depressive symptoms, pain intensity, level of anxiety will be obtained before and 24 hours after infusion. Acute dissociative effects, manic/hypomanic symptoms, and psychotomimetic effects will be measured 30 minutes before the start of each infusion and at the end of infusion (t0+40 mins) and again at t0+120mins and t0+180mins. The infusion will be discontinued in the event of significant adverse events. Procedures for the subsequent infusions at days 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12 will be identical to those of the first infusion.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
62

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55417-2309
        • Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female Veterans aged 18 to 75 years.
  • Have a telephone in their home and able to hear telephone conversations.
  • Must meet current DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD), single or recurrent, without psychotic features confirmed by depression subset of the Structured Clinical Interview-Clinical Trial for DSM-IV (SCID).
  • Have score 32 on the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Clinician Rated (IDS-C30)for severity of major depressive episode (MDE) at screening.
  • Current major depressive episode resistant to treatment defined as failure to achieve improvement from at least 2 antidepressant trials of different pharmacological classes. Systematic evaluation of previous antidepressant trials will be assessed by the Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF) .
  • If applicable, current antidepressant dosages including augmenting agents and/or frequency and duration of psychotherapy sessions must remain stable for at least 6 weeks prior to beginning of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to speak English.
  • Inability or unwillingness to provide written informed consent.
  • Moderate/severe cognitive impairment by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores 27.
  • Current or lifetime DSM-V criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder, psychosis-related disorder, bipolar disorder I or II disorder, substance-induced mood disorder, any mood disorder due to a general medical condition or any Axis I disorder other than MDD as the primary presenting problem.
  • History of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, dementia of any type, multiple sclerosis, seizures or other central nervous system (CNS) related disorders.
  • History of comorbid substance disorder within 6 months of assessment plus positive urine toxicology screen test during baseline assessments.
  • Clinically unstable medical illness that could compromise the patient's ability to tolerate or likely interfere with the study procedures (e.g., history of or current myocardial ischemia or arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, severe pulmonary, renal, or hepatic disease, uncontrolled hypertension).
  • Current or within less than 14 days use of barbiturates or monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi).
  • For women: pregnancy (confirmed by lab test), initiation of female hormonal treatments within 3 months of screening, or inability/ unwillingness to use a medically accepted contraceptive method during the study.
  • Imminent risk of suicidal/homicidal ideation and/or behavior with intent and/or plan.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Six ketamine infusions
Six infusions of 0.5 mg/Kg of ketamine hydrochloride solution over 2 weeks.
Drug: ketamine
sedative
Active Comparator: Single ketamine infusion preceded by 5 midazolam infusions
Single infusion of 0.5 mg/Kg of ketamine hydrochloride solution preceded by midazolam 0.045 mg/kg over 2 weeks.
Drug: ketamine
sedative
Drug: midazolam
sedative

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Score After 12 Days of Treatment
Time Frame: 13 days
Average difference in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score change between groups. The MADRS has 10-items which are based on mood symptoms over the past 7 days. Each items is scored 0 (normal) to 6 (severe depression) with overall score ranges from 0 (normal) to 60 (severe depression).
13 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Antidepressant Response Defined as >50% Decrease in MADRS Baseline Score
Time Frame: 13 days
Comparing the number of subjects that achieve response between groups as defined above.
13 days
Remission Defined as MADRS Score Equal or Less Than 9
Time Frame: 13 days
Comparing the number of subjects that achieve remission between groups as defined above
13 days
Time From Post-infusion Response to Occurrence of Relapse Defined as <50% of Baseline MADRS Score
Time Frame: 6 months
The length of time from post-infusion response until relapse (defined as >50% of MADRS baseline score) assessed for up to 6 months.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
VA Office of Research and Development

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Mayo Clinic
University of Minnesota

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Paulo R Shiroma, MD, Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 22, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 19, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 29, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 4, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 10, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 25, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 23, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CLNA-018-14S

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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