title: Rapid antidepressant effects of repeated doses of ketamine compared with electroconvulsive therapy in hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder.
abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests that N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists (e.g. ketamine) may exert rapid antidepressant effects in MDD patients. In the present study, we evaluated the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine compared with the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in hospitalized patients with MDD. In this blind, randomized study, 18 patients with DSM-IV MDD were divided into two groups which received either three intravenous infusions of ketamine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg over 45 min) or ECT on 3 test days (every 48 h). The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), which was used to rate overall depressive symptoms at baseline, 24 h after each treatment, 72 h and one week after the last (third) ketamine or ECT. Within 24 h, depressive symptoms significantly improved in subjects receiving the first dose of ketamine compared with ECT group. Compared to baseline level, this improvement remained significant throughout the study. Depressive symptoms after the second dose ketamine was also lower than the second ECT. This study showed that ketamine is as effective as ECT in improving depressive symptoms in MDD patients and have more rapid antidepressant effects compared with the ECT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 13145-784, Tehran, Iran; NeurExpand Brain Center, 1205 York Road, Lutherville, MD 21093, USA. Electronic address: m82.ghasemi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran; Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research (FIMR), Manhasset, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran; Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolghasem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoosefi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 13145-784, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran.
authors.forename: Pedram
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paragomi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran; Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337, Iran.
authors.forename: Homayoun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amini
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, South Kargar Street, Tehran 13337-95914, Iran; Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail, Octogone, 5, Allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Mohammad H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Afzali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007649:Ketamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D007649:Ketamine
keywords: Antidepressant; Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS); Ketamine; Major depressive disorder; NMDA receptor; NMDA receptor antagonist