On the safety of repeated ketamine infusions for the treatment of depression: Effects of sex and developmental periods.

ABSTRACT: In this review, we will discuss the safety of repeated treatments with ketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition in which patients with major depression do not show any clinical improvements following treatments with at least two antidepressant drugs. We will discuss the effects of these treatments in both sexes at different developmental periods. Numerous small clinical studies have shown that a single, low-dose ketamine infusion can rapidly alleviate depressive symptoms and thoughts of suicidality in patients with TRD, and these effects can last for about one week. Interestingly, the antidepressant effects of ketamine can be prolonged with intermittent, repeated infusion regimens and produce more robust therapeutic effects when compared to a single infu

SUBMITTER: Strong CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6236511 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature