Mandal S, Sinha VK, Goyal N. Efficacy of ketamine therapy in the treatment of depression. Indian J Psychiatry. 2019 Sep-Oct;61(5):480-485. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry

_484_18. PMID: 31579184; PMCID: PMC6767816.

Highlights:

• Administration of slow IV ketamine in patients with severe depression results in significant improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms immediately 1 hour after a single dose and this effect is sustained with repeated six doses over 2 weeks and there is an overall decrease in illness severity after 2 weeks.
• The study comprised of 25 drug-free, naïve male patients with severe depression, that received subanesthetic ketamine treatments. The dose was set at 0.5mg/kg, given 6 times over 2 weeks.
• Assessments were made at baseline, time of treatment, 1 hour after 1^st dose, and 1 month after last dose.

Results:

There was a significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and the severity of illness after 2 weeks and 1 month of the last dose of ketamine. Significant improvement at 1st h of the first dose was seen in depression and anxiety and not for illness severity. There were transient adverse effects observed in some patients which subsided within 1 h.

Conclusion:

Ketamine has a robust and rapid effect on depression, which was seen immediately after the administration of ketamine and sustained at the end of 1 month.