Bipolar DisorderDepressive DisordersSuicidalityKetamine

Efficacy and safety of ketamine in bipolar depression: A systematic review

This review (2017) compared the safety and efficacy of ketamine for bipolar depression across scientific studies (1 clinical trial, 4 case studies, 5 cohort studies), which showed that symptoms are reduced swiftly and effectively in response to treatment, but they reappear relatively quickly within 3-14 days depending on the scale used to measure symptoms. Ketamine may be considered safe and effective for treating some cases of bipolar depression, although it has a short duration of action, in the absence of confirming studies designed specifically for bipolar depression.

Authors

  • Alberich, S.
  • Martínez-Cengotitabengoa, M.
  • López, P.

Published

Revista de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental
meta Study

Abstract

The depression is the most prevalent state throughout the life of the bipolar patient. Ketamine has been shown to be an effective and rapid treatment for depression. The objective of the present work is to perform a systematic review on the efficacy and safety of ketamine as treatment of bipolar depression, as well as its different patterns of administration. The search found 10 relevant manuscripts that met the inclusion criteria: one clinical trial, 5 cohort studies, and 4 case reports. Intravenous infusion was used in 60% of the studies. According to data, ketamine seems to be an effective and safe treatment for bipolar depression, although the length of its effect is short. Adverse effects observed generally occurred at the time of infusion, and tended to completely disappear within 1-2 h. Therefore, more studies are necessary to explore new patterns of administration, as well as on its safety and adverse effects.

Available with Blossom Pro

Research Summary of 'Efficacy and safety of ketamine in bipolar depression: A systematic review'

Introduction

Bipolar disorder is a highly disabling and costly condition in which depressive states are the most common mood component over the lifetime. Although established treatments exist for bipolar depression, a substantial proportion of patients remain insufficiently responsive or intolerant to available options, and there is a pressing need for rapidly acting antidepressant interventions because of suicide risk. Research over the past decade has implicated the glutamatergic system and the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in antidepressant mechanisms, motivating interest in NMDA antagonists. This systematic review aims to summarise the evidence on the efficacy and safety of ketamine for bipolar depression and to describe different administration patterns. The focus is on prospective human studies published in English or Spanish between January 2012 and October 2015 that specifically evaluated ketamine in patients with bipolar disorder and depressive episodes.

Expert Research Summaries

Go Pro to access AI-powered section-by-section summaries, editorial takes, and the full research toolkit.

Full Text PDF

Full Paper PDF

Create a free account to open full-text PDFs.

Study Details

References (8)

Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom

Replication of Ketamine’s Antidepressant Efficacy in Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Add-On Trial

Zarate, C. A., Brutsche, N. E., Ibrahim, L. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2012)

757 cited
Antidepressant effects of ketamine in depressed patients

Berman, R. M., Cappiello, A., Anand, A. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2000)

Antidepressant Efficacy of Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Two-Site Randomized Controlled Trial

Murrough, J. W., Iosifescu, D. V., Chang, L. C. et al. · American Journal of Psychiatry (2013)

Rapid and Longer-Term Antidepressant Effects of Repeated Ketamine Infusions in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression

Murrough, J. W., Perez, A. M., Pillemer, S. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2012)

Ketamine as the prototype glutamatergic antidepressant: pharmacodynamic actions, and a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy

Caddy, C., Giaroli, G., White, T. P. et al. · Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology (2013)

The use of ketamine as an antidepressant: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Coyle, C. M., Laws, K. R. · Human Psychopharmacology (2015)

Ketamine administration in depressive disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Fond, G., Loundou, A., Macgregor, A. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2014)

Cited By (7)

Papers in Blossom that reference this study

Biomarkers of ketamine's antidepressant effect: An umbrella review

Meshkat, S., Cao, B., Teopiz, K. M. et al. · Journal of Affective Disorders (2023)

Ketamine for suicidality: an umbrella review

Shamabadi, A., Ahmadzade, A., Hasanzadeh, A. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2022)

Ketamine for bipolar depression: a systematic review

Bahji, A., Zarate, C. A., Vazquez, G. H. · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2021)

Comparative efficacy of racemic ketamine and esketamine for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Bahji, A., Vazquez, G. H., Zarate, C. A. · Journal of Affective Disorders (2021)

312 cited
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports

Martial, C., Cassol, H., Charland-Verville, V, Erowid, E. et al. · Consciousness and Cognition (2019)

Use of repeated intravenous ketamine therapy in treatment-resistant bipolar depression with suicidal behaviour: a case report from Spain

López-Díaz, A., Fernández-González, J. L., Luján-Jiménez, J. E. et al. · Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology (2017)

Your Personal Research Library

Go Pro to save papers, add notes, rate studies, and organize your research into custom shelves.

Efficacy and safety of ketamine in bipolar... — Research Summary & Context | Blossom