Ketamine for Severe Adolescent Depression: Intermediate-term Safety and Efficacy (SAD-KIDS)
Major Depressive Disorder
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Major Depressive Disorder focused on measuring depression, ketamine
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Male or female ages 13-17 years
- Meet DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 ) criteria for Major Depressive Disorder by structured interview (MINI-KID)
- Children's Depression Rating Scale, Revised CDRS score ≥40 at screening
- Failure to achieve remission with at least 2 antidepressant trials (e.g. SSRI, SNRI or TCA), meaning at least 6 weeks at therapeutic dosing, including at least 4 weeks of stable dosing
- Stable psychiatric medications and doses for the month prior to enrollment. Subjects may continue to engage in any ongoing psychotherapy.
- Medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of physical examination and medical history.
- Parents able to provide written informed consent and adolescents must additionally provide assent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- History of psychotic disorder, manic episode, autism spectrum disorder diagnosed by MINI-KID
- History of substance dependence diagnosis by MINI-KID (excluding tobacco) or positive urine toxicology.
- Intellectual disability (IQ<70) per medical history
- Pregnancy (urine pregnancy tests on the day of infusions for menstruating girls) or lactation
- Prior treatment with ketamine for depression or prior recreational use of ketamine.
- Inability to provide written informed consent according to the Yale Human Investigation Committee (HIC) guidelines in English.
Sites / Locations
- Yale Child Study Center
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Placebo Comparator
Ketamine
Midazolam
Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic agent that is commonly used to induce surgical anesthesia due to its low incidence of significant respiratory depression and hypotension. It as a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and glutamatergic modulator, and has been demonstrated in multiple controlled clinical trials to have rapidly acting antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects in adults.
Midazolam, the active control in this study, is a medication that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a sedative for both children and adults.It is a benzodiazepine with a short half-life that was chosen so as to blind the psychotomimetic effects of Ketamine.