Ketamine Treatment Options in San Diego, CA

Depression treatment typically is slow acting. Patients presenting with acute suicidality have few immediate treatment options. However, sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine have been now widely tested as a rapid-acting treatment for depression. Gregory Larkin et al at Yale showed this could be applied to suicidal patients, with 14 of 15 participants showing remission of suicidal thinking within 40 min of the administration of ketamine, with 13 showing lasting remission out to 10 days. No serious side effects were reported. This project proposes to conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of this, same intervention in military patients recently hospitalized for suicidal thinking. After being assessed, and giving informed consent, participants would receive 0.2mg/kg ketamine or placebo. Their suicidal thinking, depression, and other symptoms would be monitored acutely for 240 min after drug infusion, and the for lasting changes the next day, at hospital discharge, 2 weeks, and 10 weeks. Potential adverse events will be monitored via the electronic medical record for up to a year. Read Less

The objective of this double-blinded placebo-controlled pilot study is to determine whether a single sub-anesthetic rapid IV bolus dose of ketamine administered to acutely depressed patients with or without suicidality has a significant rapid antidepressant effect in the acutely depressed population. The study will pursue as a primary outcome measure whether a significant reduction in depressive symptoms, as assessed by the BSS and BHS, occurs shortly after administration of ketamine at 40, 80, 120, and 240 minutes. A secondary outcome measure will be assessed to determine whether this single infusion of ketamine has a sustained reduction in depressive symptoms within 2-weeks post-infusion with a reduction in BDI score. Suicidal ideation will also be assessed for determination of any reduction and sustained reduction post infusion by assessment of the Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale (BSS), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) at similar intervals. Read Less