Intensive 7-day Treatment for PTSD Combining Ketamine With Exposure Therapy (PTSD)

Combining Neurobiology and New Learning: Ketamine and Prolonged Exposure: A Potential Rapid Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

The purpose of this study is to combine a single infusion of Ketamine with 7-days of trauma focus psychotherapy to relieve post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms more effectively. This treatment has the potential to produce a significant therapeutic effect that otherwise would take months to occur.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Ketamine; Drug: Midazolam

Detailed Description

Based on the current research findings on the therapeutic effectiveness of trauma focus psychotherapy and of ketamine, combining the two treatments may yield a promising new rapid 7-day treatment for PTSD. As PTSD symptoms' structure is comprised of several unique clusters which include re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing/depression and hypervigilance the investigators hypothesize that by combining Ketamine with prolonged exposure (PE) the investigators can address these symptoms clusters more effectively. This treatment has the potential to produce a significant therapeutic effect that otherwise would take months to occur by tapping on the enhanced neuroplasticity and the antidepressant effect of ketamine (which lasts between 24hrs to 7 days), to promote rapid changes in learning and memory using prolonged exposure therapy within this unique "window of opportunity".

During the first visit participants will undergo a clinical interview to establish a PTSD diagnosis and other eligibility criteria. If found eligible participants will be invited to take part in this 7-day rapid treatment trial for PTSD.

On the first therapy visits, participants will be educated about the psychological treatment that will be provided and the potential benefit of ketamine to enhance the psychotherapy outcomes.

On the second day of the study, participants will receive an infusion of ketamine or placebo and will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and will receive the second psychotherapy session.

On days 3-6 participants will attend a 60-90 minutes psychotherapy session to address their PTSD symptoms.

Day 7 will include another MRI scan and the last psychotherapy session.

Participants will be asked to come back for a follow up evaluation of their PTSD symptoms 30 and 90 days post discharge.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 28
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06510
      • Yale University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 17 years to 71 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female between the ages of 21-75 years. This age range was chosen to fit with prior samples in which no adverse effects of ketamine have been observed. Adults in the 18-20 ranges have been eliminated because previous experience indicates that they often lack the maturity to participate effectively in similar protocols. Females will be included if they are not pregnant and agreed to utilize a medically accepted birth control method (to include oral, injectable, or implant birth control, condom, diaphragm with spermicide, intrauterine device, tubal ligation, abstinence, or partner with vasectomy) or if post-menopausal for at least 1 year, or surgically sterile.
• Able to provide written informed consent according to Yale HIC guidelines.
• Able to read and write English as a primary language.
• Diagnosis of PTSD, as determined by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) (Weathers et al., 2013).
• Must have a score of 50 or higher on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) at screening.
• No more than mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) according to a modified version of the Brief TBI Screen (Schwab, et al., 2006).
• Must not have a medical/neurological problem or use medication that would render ketamine unsafe by history or medical evaluation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a diagnostic history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder or currently exhibiting psychotic features as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) (First, et al. 2010); dementia or suspicion thereof, are excluded. Other DSM Axis I disorders are permitted as long as they are not considered primary disorders.
• Patients with a history of antidepressant-induced hypomania or mania as determined by open-ended psychiatric interview.
• Serious suicide or homicide risk, as assessed by evaluating clinician; A serious suicide risk will be considered an inability to control suicide attempts, imminent risk of suicide in the investigator's judgment, or a history of serious suicidal behavior, which is defined using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) (Posner et al., 2011) as either (1) one or more actual suicide attempts in the 3 years before study entry with the lethality rated at 3 or higher, or (2) one or more interrupted suicide attempts with a potential lethality judged to result in serious injury or death.
• Substance abuse or dependence during the 6 months prior to screening as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID).
• Any significant history of serious medical or neurological illness.
• Any signs of major medical or neurological illness on examination or as a result of electrocardiogram (ECG) screening or laboratory studies.
• Lifetime history of psychoactive substance or alcohol dependence or substance or alcohol abuse (other than nicotine or caffeine abuse), or drinking more than 5 drinks/week during the last year.
• Abnormality on physical examination. A subject with a clinical abnormality may be included only if the study physician considers the abnormality will not introduce additional risk factors and will not interfere with the study procedure.
• A positive pre-study (screening) urine drug screen or, at the study physician's discretion on any drug screens given before the scans.
• Pregnant or lactating women or a positive urine pregnancy test for women of child-bearing potential at screening or prior to any imaging day.
• Positive HIV or Hepatitis B tests. This test will take place at the screening visit. Subjects will be invited back to the Yale Depression Research Program either for their next study visit or for a HIV/Hep debriefing session. A study physician will inform them in person of the results. They will be given access to counselling and advised of the appropriate next steps.
• Has received either prescribed or over-the-counter (OTC) centrally active medicine or herbal supplements within 60 days of enrollment into the study. Subjects who have taken OTC medication or herbal supplements may still be entered into the study, if, in the opinion of the principal/co-investigator, the medication received will not interfere with the study procedures or compromise safety.
• Any history indicating learning disability, mental retardation, or attention deficit disorder.
• Known sensitivity to ketamine.
• Body circumference of 52 inches or greater.
• Body weight of 250 pounds or greater.
• History of claustrophobia.
• Presence of cardiac pacemaker or other electronic device or ferromagnetic metal foreign bodies in vulnerable positions as assessed by a standard pre-MRI screening questionnaire.
• Donation of blood in excess of 500 mL within 56 days prior to dosing.
• History of sensitivity to heparin or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Single infusion of Ketamine with prolonged exposure; After the reactivation of the scripted memories during PE on day 2, the ketamine infusion procedure will begin inside the MRI. A physician will oversee and administer the ketamine infusions. A nurse will accompany the subject throughout the study sessions, from the insertion of bilateral cannula for drug infusion and blood sampling, to the recovery following ketamine infusion. Whilst subjects undergo the infusion, their heart rate and blood pressure will be constantly monitored. The participant will receive a steady state ketamine infusion of 0.50 mg/kg/hour. The infusion will continue for 40 minutes.	Drug: Ketamine; Prolonged exposure therapy combined with a single infusion of 0.50 mg/kg/hour for 40 min on day 2.; Other Names: Ketalar
Active Comparator: Midazolam with prolonged exposure; After the reactivation of the scripted memories during PE on day 2, the midazolam infusion procedure will begin inside the MRI. A physician will oversee and administer the Midazolam infusions. A nurse will accompany the subject throughout the study sessions, from the insertion of bilateral cannula for drug infusion and blood sampling, to the recovery following midazolam infusion. Whilst subjects undergo the infusion, their heart rate and blood pressure will be constantly monitored. The participant will receive a steady midazolam infusions at a rate 0.045 mg/kg for 40 minutes.	Drug: Midazolam; Prolonged exposure therapy combined with a single infusion of 0.045 mg/kg/hour for 40 min on day 2.; Other Names: Versed

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in PTSD Symptoms	PTSD symptoms severity will be evaluated overtime using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a 20 items self-report measure. Items are scored 0-4 (0=not at all to 4=Extremely), thus total PCL-5 score ranges from 0 to 80. Higher scores reflect greater severity of PTSD. Total PCL-5 scores are reported. PCL score>33 indicates probable PTSD diagnosis. Evidence for the PCL suggested 5 points reduction as a minimum threshold for determining whether an individual has responded to treatment and 10 points reduction in the PCL-5 as a minimum threshold for determining whether the improvement is clinically meaningful.	Baseline, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)	The self-report BDI-II will be used to assess severity of depressive symptoms. A higher score is associated with higher severity of depression. The score is interpreted as follows: 0-13 indicates minimal depression, 14-19 indicates mild depression, 20-28 indicates moderate depression and 29-63 indicates severe depression	Baseline, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, PhD, Yale University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 28, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): November 28, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 14, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 30, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): April 5, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 17, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: PTSD
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Neurotransmitter Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Central Nervous System Depressants; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Anesthetics, Dissociative; Anesthetics, Intravenous; Anesthetics, General; Anesthetics; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Agents; Tranquilizing Agents; Psychotropic Drugs; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Adjuvants, Anesthesia; Anti-Anxiety Agents; GABA Modulators; GABA Agents; Ketamine; Midazolam
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1509016530; 23260 (Other Grant/Funding Number: NARSAD)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: Data from the initial stage of the investigation will be used to establish support for a Phase 3 RCT.

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.: Yes