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Rapid Relief of Treatment Resistant Depression by Facilitated Ketamine Infusion: A Preliminary Report

Steven Best

Activitas Nervosa Superior March 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1007/bf03379605 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Preliminary case series Case report Peer reviewed
Sample size 28
Population Patients with various degrees of treatment-unresponsive depression previously classified as non-responders
Interventions Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) intravenous ketamine priming TMS
Duration Pretreatment for 3 days to 2 weeks; first month of treatment
Topics Depression Esketamine Ketamine
Citations 5
Key findings All 28 patients who fully participated in the first month of combined TMS and ketamine treatment experienced relief of psychiatric symptoms and significant psychosocial recovery. The authors suggest these outcomes indicate a synergistic effect of the combination therapy, in contrast to previous studies examining ketamine or rTMS individually.

Abstract

Abstract By combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with intravenous ketamine therapy, we sought to increase the therapeutic value of TMS and, at the same time, to improve the efficacy of intravenous ketamine therapy among depressed patients previously classified as non-responders. In this preliminary report, we provide evidence for a new and much more reliable method of treating patients with treatment resistant depression. Twenty-eight patients with various degrees of treatment unresponsive depression were treated with a combination of TMS and ketamine infusion. Of these patients, twenty received pretreatment for 3 days to 2 weeks involving intensive (thrice daily) rTMS treatment administered 6 or 7 days/week or priming TMS treatment immediately prior to the combination TMSketamine infusion combination therapy. Eight patients received neither pretreatment nor priming. All of the 28 patients who did fully participate in the first month of treatment experienced relief of psychiatric symptoms, and showed significant psychosocial recovery. In contrast to previous studies examining ketamine or rTMS individually, the positive outcomes presented here suggest a synergistic effect of the combination therapy of TMS and ketamine infusion.

Comparable studies

Other case reports and case series on ketamine for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Electroconvulsive Therapy, Ketamine, and Esketamine in a Patient with Major Depressive Disorder and Multiple Comorbidities: A Case Report over 10-year Treatment from Adolescence to Adulthood. A patient with treatment-resistant depression and comorbid generalized anxiety... 2025 Case report n = 1
Oral Administration of the NMDA Receptor Antagonist S-Ketamine as Add-On Therapy of Depression: A Case Series Four depressed patients taking standard antidepressants 2009 Case series n = 4
A longitudinal case series of IM ketamine for patients with severe and enduring eating disorders and comorbid treatment‐resistant depression Patients with enduring eating disorders and treatment-resistant depression 2021 Case series n = 4
Effects of intranasal (S)-ketamine on Veterans with co-morbid treatment-resistant depression and PTSD: A retrospective case series Veterans with co-morbid depression and PTSD 2022 Retrospective case series n = 35
Case report: Intramuscular ketamine or intranasal esketamine as a treatment in four patients with major depressive disorder and comorbid anorexia nervosa Patients with anorexia nervosa and a comorbid depressive disorder treated at a private... 2023 Case report n = 4

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