Letter to the editor
Ketamine as a Treatment for Adolescent Depression: A Case Report

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Case Presentation

P.R. was a 16-year-old boy with a history of MDD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Crohn’s disease who was admitted for his fifth inpatient hospitalization over 13 months for depression with suicidal ideation. He presented with several months of worsening depressive symptoms including irritability, hypersomnia, anhedonia, amotivation, increased appetite, and hopelessness. He also reported several months of gender dysphoria, describing discomfort with male gender and

Discussion

We have described herein the successful treatment of a 16-year-old boy with MDD and ADHD with repeated ketamine infusions. We observed benefits of ketamine on depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in this adolescent that are similar to those described in adults. Ketamine is thought to act via novel glutamatergic antidepressant mechanisms through its blockade of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDA) receptors6 and its metabolite’s stimulation of

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This letter was reviewed under and accepted by deputy editor Douglas K. Novins, MD.

Disclosure: Dr. Dwyer has received research support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Yale Child Study Center Pilot Research Award, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Pilot Award. Dr. Wilkinson has received research support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (formally NARSAD), the Robert E. Leet and Clara Guthrie Patterson Trust Foundation, and received an award for research in residency sponsored by the American Psychiatric Foundation/Janssen Pharamceuticals. Dr. Bloch has received grant or research support from the National Institutes of Health, the Tourette Association of America, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD), the Patterson Foundation, Therapix Biosciences, and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. He has served on the scientific advisory board of Therapix Biosciences. Mr. Beyer has received research support from the Taylor Foundation. Drs. Ostroff and Qayyum report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

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