Intravenous Arketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Open-Label Pilot Study (UMIN000038347, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil)
Open-label pilot trial (UMIN000038347; Correia-Melo FS et al.; Federal University of Bahia / University Hospital, Salvador, Brazil; Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2020, DOI 10.1007/s00406-020-01110-5). Participants: 7 adults (ages 18–65) with DSM-5 MDD, MADRS ≥25, failure to respond to ≥2 adequate antidepressant trials in current episode. No control arm, no randomisation. Intervention: single IV infusion of arketamine (R-ketamine, >99.0% enantiomeric purity, R/S ratio >99.5:0.5) at 0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes; concomitant antidepressants continued. Primary outcome: MADRS change from baseline to 24 hours post-infusion. Results: mean MADRS dropped from 30.7 to 10.4 (mean difference 20.3 points; 95% CI 13.6–27.0; p<0.001); dissociation near-absent. Registry: UMIN (WHO ICTRP-listed Japanese registry).
Study Arms & Interventions
Arketamine
experimentalSingle intravenous infusion of arketamine (R-ketamine)
Interventions
- Ketamine0.5 mg/kgvia IV• single dose• 1 doses total
delivered over 40 min
Primary Results(1 publication)
Participants
Response Rates
≥50% reduction in baseline MADRS
MADRS < 10 (remission)
Adverse Events (from all publications)
| Arm / Group | n | Any TEAE | Severe | Serious | Discont. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arketamineexperimental | 7 | — | — | 0(0.0%) | — |
* The paper reports specific mild/transient side effects: blurred vision (3 subjects) and dizziness (2 subjects). No serious adverse events were reported.
Study Details
- StatusCompleted
- Typeinterventional
- DesignNon-randomized
- Target Enrollment7 participants
- TimelineStart: 2019-01-01End: 2020-01-01
- Compound