Intranasal Esketamine Found to Rapidly Reduce Symptoms of Depression, Suicidality
Mark Moran
Psychiatric News May 4, 2018 DOI: 10.1176/appi.pn.2018.5a8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | News report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Depressed patients at imminent risk of suicide |
| Intervention | Intranasal esketamine |
| Topics | Depression Esketamine |
| Key points | Reports that intranasal esketamine appears to rapidly improve depression scores and measures of suicidality in depressed patients at imminent risk of suicide, with a significant early benefit that gradually became less apparent over time as standard treatments took effect. The text states that replication trials are needed and that safeguards against abuse would need to be established alongside access for patients who may benefit. |
Abstract
If replication trials support these findings, safeguards will need to be established to guard against the risk of abuse while ensuring access to those patients who may benefit from esketamine. Intranasal esketamine appears to rapidly improve depression scores and measures of suicidality among depressed patients at imminent risk of suicide, according to a report published April 16 in AJP in Advance. “Esketamine provided a significant benefit early in the treatment course that gradually became less apparent over time as the antidepressant effects of the standard treatment approaches had more time to take effect,” said Gerard Sanacora, M. D.