The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
October 1, 2019
2 citations
A five‐week trial involving 55 participants has concluded that a single infusion of ketamine in combination with a course of mindfulness‐based psychotherapy was more effective than midazolam with therapy in limiting craving and maintaining abstinence among individuals with cocaine dependence. The researchers found that participants receiving ketamine were 53% less likely to drop out of...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
September 1, 2019
Esketamine nasal spray in combination with a newly initiated antidepressant was more effective than a new antidepressant plus placebo in reducing depressive symptoms in patients with treatment‐resistant depression, a Phase 3 study has found. Esketamine, the S‐enantiomer of ketamine, recently received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for treatment‐resistant depression in adults. Study...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
July 1, 2019
A study examining the effects of single, repeated, and maintenance doses of ketamine on patients with treatment‐resistant depression has found cumulative and sustained antidepressant effects from six infusions administered three times a week over 2 weeks. The study also found that among responders to the repeated infusions, antidepressant response was generally maintained with weekly infusions...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
November 14, 2018
A placebo‐controlled study in which participants with treatment‐resistant depression received naltrexone prior to infusion of ketamine found that the opioid antagonist blocked ketamine's antidepressant effects but not the dissociation induced by ketamine. These findings suggest that the antidepressant effect of ketamine requires activation of the opioid system.
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
September 1, 2018
Military veterans and public safety officers with chronic post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced a reduction in symptoms when the psychedelic drug 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was given in conjunction with psychotherapy, a randomized trial has found. Doses of 75 mg and 125 mg, each given in two experimental sessions spaced 3 to 5 weeks apart, were more effective than a...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
July 9, 2018
A proof‐of‐concept study involving 68 participants found that intranasal esketamine was more effective than placebo in the short term in reducing depressive symptoms in patients at imminent risk for suicide. Improvement over placebo was apparent four hours after administration — an important finding given that conventional treatments for depression take substantially longer to generate an...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
March 9, 2018
Patients with treatment‐resistant depression who received intranasal esketamine as adjunctive therapy with an antidepressant experienced greater symptom improvement than patients receiving adjunctive placebo, a multiphase study with 67 participants has found. The antidepressant effect seen in the study was dose‐related, and adverse events led to study discontinuation in only a small number of...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
August 1, 2016
Intravenous ketamine administered twice a week or three times a week resulted in sustained antidepressant effects compared with placebo in a group of patients with treatment‐resistant depression, a new study has found. Based on similar results between the two dosing frequencies, the researchers indicated that a twice‐weekly regimen could serve as an initial repeated‐dose strategy in this...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
2016
A review and meta‐analysis of the effects of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists in treating major depression has confirmed that ketamine is the only such drug to date that has demonstrated antidepressant efficacy across multiple trials. Authors of the review stated, however, that the findings regarding ketamine should be viewed with caution because the beneficial effects are not...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
March 1, 2015
A new randomized, double‐blind crossover study has found that a single 50‐mg dose of intranasal ketamine was associated with rapid antidepressant response in patients with treatment‐resistant depression, with a significant effect seen 40 minutes after administration.