Ketamine for Severe Adolescent Depression: Intermediate-term Safety and Efficacy

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the intermediate-term efficacy and tolerability of a multiple-dosing ketamine infusion paradigm for the treatment of medication-refractory major depressive disorder (MDD). We are using a two-phase design. The first phase is a 3-week double blind parallel design clinical trial comparing 6 infusions of ketamine compared to 6 infusions of midazolam in 24 adolescents with treatment resistant depression. The primary outcome of this phase will be Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) score at Day 18. The second phase is a 6-month open phase in which patients who received midazolam and remain depressed with be offered open ketamine treatment (6 infusions over 3 weeks). All participants will be followed weekly for 6 months and tracked for time to relapse.

Intervention / Treatment

Phase 1 is a double-blind, midazolam-controlled parallel design trial; Phase 2 is an open extension.
  • Ketamine Infusion (DRUG)
    The dose of ketamine established in prior research (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) will be used in this study to minimize risks. The maximum total single dose allowed in this study will be 40mg, corresponding to a weight of 80kg.
  • Midazolam Infusion (DRUG)
    The weight-based midazolam dosing established in prior ketamine trials in adults (0.045mg/kg) will be used to minimize risks, as this is considered a very low dose compared to the sedation literature. The maximum total dose allowed in this study will be 3.6mg per infusion, corresponding to a weight of 80kg.

Condition or Disease

  • Major Depressive Disorder

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3
  • Study Design

    Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
    Status: Terminated
    Study results: No Results Available
    Age: 13 Years to 17 Years
    Enrollment: 3 (ACTUAL)
    Funded by: Other
    Allocation: Randomized
    Primary Purpose: Treatment

    Masking

    Participants will not be told what medication they are receiving; physicians absent from the infusion paradigm will perform blinded clinical efficacy ratings.

    DOUBLE:
    • Participant
    • Outcomes Assessor

    Clinical Trial Dates

    Start date: Jul 17, 2019 ACTUAL
    Primary Completion: Dec 18, 2019 ACTUAL
    Completion Date: Jan 05, 2023 ACTUAL
    Study First Posted: Mar 26, 2019 ACTUAL
    Results First Posted: Apr 24, 2023 ACTUAL
    Last Updated: Mar 31, 2023

    Sponsors / Collaborators

    Lead Sponsor: Yale University
    Lead sponsor is responsible party
    Responsible Party: N/A

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the intermediate-term efficacy and tolerability of a multiple-dosing ketamine infusion paradigm for the treatment of medication-refractory major depressive disorder (MDD). The specific aims of the study are: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a multiple-dosing ketamine infusion paradigm (2 infusions per week for 3 weeks) compared to midazolam in adolescents with treatment resistant depression (TRD), . To test these aims we have designed a two-phase trial. The first phase is a 3-week double blind parallel design clinical trial comparing 6 infusions of ketamine compared to 6 infusions of midazolam in 24 adolescents with TRD. The primary outcome of this phase will be Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) score at Day 18. The second phase is a 6-month open phase in which patients who received midazolam and remain depressed with be offered open ketamine treatment (6 infusions over 3 weeks). All participants will be followed weekly for 6 months and tracked for time to relapse. In those who initially responded to ketamine, symptom triggered maintenance infusions will be offered during this 6-month time period. All participants will receive standard of care treatment in addition to experimental procedures, and will be tracked monthly with extensive neurocognitive assessments.

    Participant Groups

    • Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic agent that is commonly used to induce surgical anesthesia due to its low incidence of significant respiratory depression and hypotension. It as a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and glutamatergic modulator, and has been demonstrated in multiple controlled clinical trials to have rapidly acting antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects in adults.

    • Midazolam, the active control in this study, is a medication that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a sedative for both children and adults.It is a benzodiazepine with a short half-life that was chosen so as to blind the psychotomimetic effects of Ketamine.

    Eligibility Criteria

    Sex: All
    Minimum Age: 13
    Maximum Age: 17
    Age Groups: Child
    Healthy Volunteers: Yes

    Inclusion Criteria:

    1. Male or female ages 13-17 years
    2. Meet DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 ) criteria for Major Depressive Disorder by structured interview (MINI-KID)
    3. Children's Depression Rating Scale, Revised CDRS score ≥40 at screening
    4. Failure to achieve remission with at least 2 antidepressant trials (e.g. SSRI, SNRI or TCA), meaning at least 6 weeks at therapeutic dosing, including at least 4 weeks of stable dosing
    5. Stable psychiatric medications and doses for the month prior to enrollment. Subjects may continue to engage in any ongoing psychotherapy.
    6. Medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of physical examination and medical history.
    7. Parents able to provide written informed consent and adolescents must additionally provide assent.

    Exclusion Criteria:

    1. History of psychotic disorder, manic episode, autism spectrum disorder diagnosed by MINI-KID
    2. History of substance dependence diagnosis by MINI-KID (excluding tobacco) or positive urine toxicology.
    3. Intellectual disability (IQ\<70) per medical history
    4. Pregnancy (urine pregnancy tests on the day of infusions for menstruating girls) or lactation
    5. Prior treatment with ketamine for depression or prior recreational use of ketamine.
    6. Inability to provide written informed consent according to the Yale Human Investigation Committee (HIC) guidelines in English.

    Primary Outcomes
    • Establish if repeated ketamine will be efficacious medically and psychiatrically, as measured by a significant reduction in CDRS score in those treated with ketamine at the end of the dosing paradigm. The Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) is a clinician-rated instrument with 17 items scored on a 1 to 5 or 1 to 7 scale. A rating of 1 indicates normal, thus the minimum score is 17. The maximum score is 113. Scores of 20-30 suggest borderline depression. Scores of 40-60 indicate moderate depression.

    • Establish if repeated ketamine will be tolerated as measured by drop-out counts.

    More Details

    NCT Number: NCT03889756
    Acronym: SAD-KIDS
    Other IDs: 2000023857
    Study URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03889756
    Last updated: Sep 29, 2023