Skip to content

Combined ketamine and transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment resistant depression in the context of chronic OCD: a case report

S. Best

May 6, 2015 DOI: 10.1186/s40810-015-0003-y (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Case study Case report
Sample size 1
Population 32-year-old male with chronic OCD with somatic fixation, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder
Intervention Ketamine
Duration 12 weeks
Topics Depression Esketamine Ketamine
Key findings A 32-year-old man with treatment-resistant depression and comorbid OCD received combined TMS and ketamine for 12 weeks. Depression symptoms decreased substantially from pre- to post-treatment, but OCD symptoms did not improve, a pattern the author reports as consistent with previous research.

Abstract

Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is a major public health issue, with comorbid OCD contributing to the general medical costs and severity associated with TRD. Recent research has investigated the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS and its variant rTMS) in ameliorating the symptoms of depression and OCD. Most studies have used TMS to facilitate electromagnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region implicated in depression, or the supplemental motor area, a region implicated in OCD. However, it is difficult to achieve full remission with TMS alone. A parallel line of research has examined the effects of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, on both depression and OCD. A primary benefit of ketamine is that it provides short-term but rapid relief from certain grave TRD symptoms within approximately two hours. As of yet, little is known about the possible synergistic effects of combined TMS/ketamine for comorbid TRD and OCD. Thus, I report on the case of a 32-year-old male who presented with chronic OCD with somatic fixation, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder, who was treated with a novel combined TMS/ketamine treatment for 12 weeks. Measures of depression and OCD symptoms were administered pre and post treatment. The patient showed significant reductions in depression, but not OCD symptoms, which is consistent with previous research.

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

Citations in the library

Cited by 4

Cites 2

Related reading

Explore topics

Depression Esketamine Ketamine Anxiety

By condition and practice

Ketamine for depression