Ketamine Infusion for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Roughly one-third of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not experience
significant clinical benefit from first-line interventions such as pharmacotherapy with
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Furthermore, OCD patients typically experience the full treatment benefits of first-line
interventions only after a time-lag of two to three months. Inadequate symptom relief and
delay of symptom relief from first-line treatments are sources of substantial morbidity and
decreased quality of life in OCD patients. Converging lines of evidence from neuroimaging,
genetic and pharmacological studies support the importance of glutamate abnormalities in the
pathogenesis of OCD.
The investigators are conducting an open, uncontrolled study of ketamine in
treatment-refractory OCD. Ketamine is a potent antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)
receptor and has been demonstrated to have rapid anti-depressant effects in patients with
Major Depressive Disorder. The investigators have additionally provided evidence for rapid
improvement of comorbid OCD and trichotillomania after ketamine infusion in a depressed
woman.
Failure of symptom relief and delay of symptom relief from first-line treatments are a source
of substantial morbidity and decreased quality of life in OCD patients. Ketamine represents
the possibility to provide rapid symptom relief to OCD patients and may provide the mechanism
for future drug development to treat OCD more rapidly and effectively.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Yale University
Collaborator:
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression