Dose-related effects of ketamine for antidepressant-resistant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans and active duty military: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multi-center clinical trial

Jan 20, 2022Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Ketamine doses and their effects on hard-to-treat PTSD symptoms in veterans and active military

AI simplified

Psychedelic Science on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

A clinical trial involving 158 veterans and service members found no significant dose-related effect of ketamine on PTSD symptoms.

Participants were randomized to receive either placebo, low dose (0.2 mg/kg), or standard dose (0.5 mg/kg) ketamine over 8 infusions.
Primary outcomes for PTSD symptoms showed no significant differences between ketamine doses and placebo based on self-reported and clinician-administered scales.
The standard dose of ketamine significantly reduced depression symptoms compared to placebo as measured by the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale.
Dissociative and psychotomimetic effects of ketamine were dose-related but subsided to baseline levels within 2 hours and were less intense with repeated doses.
There was no significant difference in treatment discontinuation rates across different ketamine doses, indicating good tolerability.

AI simplified

This study tested the efficacy of repeated intravenous ketamine doses to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans and service members with PTSD (n = 158) who failed previous antidepressant treatment were randomized to 8 infusions administered twice weekly of intravenous placebo (n = 54), low dose (0.2 mg/kg; n = 53) or standard dose (0.5 mg/kg; n = 51) ketamine. Participants were assessed at baseline, during treatment, and for 4 weeks after their last infusion. Primary analyses used mixed effects models. The primary outcome measure was the self-report PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and secondary outcome measures were the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) and the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). There were no significant group-by-time interactions for PTSD symptoms measured by the PCL-5 or CAPS-5. The standard ketamine dose ameliorated depression measured by the MADRS significantly more than placebo. Ketamine produced dose-related dissociative and psychotomimetic effects, which returned to baseline within 2 h and were less pronounced with repeated administration. There was no evidence of differential treatment discontinuation by ketamine dose, consistent with good tolerability. This clinical trial failed to find a significant dose-related effect of ketamine on PTSD symptoms. Secondary analyses suggested that the standard dose exerted rapid antidepressant effects. Further studies are needed to determine the role of ketamine in PTSD treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02655692.

Full Text

We can’t show the full text here under this license. Use the link below to read it at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text (HTML) ↗

Dose-related effects of ketamine for antidepressant-resistant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans and active duty military: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multi-center clinical trial

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the psychedelic science brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the psychedelic science brief