Our center has been successfully using intranasal administration of ketamine for treatment resistant depression (TRD) for almost 2 years.
We are happy to share a seminal study published last week in JAMA Psychiatry. This randomized double-blind study found that intranasal esketamine has a significant and rapid effect on depressive symptoms, as well as ongoing clinical improvement with reduced dosing frequency. This is a remarkable paper in several respects:
- The magnitude of change is much greater than we see with standard antidepressants, hence the statistical significance with a small sample size.
- A dose response effect, as shown in this study, is viewed as evidence of a “true” drug effect in psychopharmacology.
- Maintence of effect with repeated dosing followed by decreased frequency.
Many patients do not want a treatment that involves needles, especially if it is a repeated treatment. Ketamine is not reliable absorbed by mouth. For now, intranasal administration in an office supervised by an experienced psychiatrist offers an excellent option for those with treatment resistant depression.
We also offer routine treatment, CBT, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), targeted genetic assessments, and select clinical research studies. Our goal is to offer the full range of evidence based treatments in a comfortable and discreet setting.