Summary Background The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is limited by concerns about its cognitive adverse effects. Preliminary evidence suggests that administering the glutamate antagonist ketamine with ECT might alleviate cognitive adverse effects and accelerate symptomatic improvement; we tested this in a randomised trial of low-dose ketamine. Methods In this multicentre, randomised,...
Background Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective acute treatment for severe depression, but there are concerns about its adverse cognitive effects. ECT may impair cognition through stimulation of glutamate receptors, and preliminary evidence has suggested that ketamine, a glutamate antagonist, may alleviate these effects. Ketamine has been shown to have a rapid, but temporary,...