Ketamine Anesthesia in Electroconvulsive Therapy

About This Study

Does the use of ketamine as the anesthetic medication in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) accelerate the antidepressant effect of ECT? The study hypothesis was that depressed subjects receiving ECT with ketamine as the anesthetic agent would demonstrate a faster rate of improvement, defined as lower depression ratings after the second ECT than depressed patients receiving ECT with the usual anesthetic agent.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• •Ketamine
• •methohexital

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

* Diagnosis of depression, either unipolar or bipolar
* Subjects receiving ECT at the Mayo Clinic

Exclusion criteria:

* Subjects not giving their own consent to ECT
* Subjects with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or dementia
* Subjects diagnosed with a major neurological disorder such as epilepsy, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, or a neurodegenerative dementia.

Study Locations (1)