Bayesian adaptive randomization trial of intravenous ketamine for veterans with late-life, treatment-resistant depression.
Contemporary clinical trials communications December 1, 2019 Brittany O'Brien, Charles E. Green, Rayan K. Al Jurdi et al. 10 citations
Over eleven million U.S. Veterans are 65 or older, and nearly 20% of that group experiences clinically significant depression. Existing medications often work poorly for late-life depression, especially when it is treatment-resistant. Ketamine offers a potentially rapid-acting option, but few studies have tested it in older adults. This ongoing trial uses an adaptive randomization design to compare the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and durability of three different low doses of intravenous ketamine against a single dose of an active placebo (midazolam) in older depressed veterans. As the study proceeds, Bayesian adaptive randomization shifts the odds of assignment toward the more promising dose conditions.