Neural Correlates of Ketamine's Anti-suicidal Effects in Bipolar Depression
Status:
Not yet recruiting
Trial end date:
2024-08-19
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Bipolar disorder is characterized by manic episodes and episodes of extreme depressive
feelings, also known as bipolar depression (BD). Although clinical data does not suggest
significant differences in the severity of depressive symptoms between bipolar and unipolar
depression, patients with BD are found to be more likely to experience suicidal ideation and
suicide attempts. Innovative treatments for suicidality in patients with BD are needed to
address tolerability and slow effect limitations of current interventions. Using an open
label pilot study, this trial aims to examine the effect of Intravenous (IV) ketamine
treatment on acute suicidality in patients with BD. Moreover, the study aims to explore the
neurophysiological mechanisms of ketamine's action directly from the cortex in patients with
BD, in order to understand the biological mechanism underlying ketamine's therapeutic action.