A Study to Investigate Evoked Potentials as Markers of Ketamine-induced Cortical Plasticity in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Phase 2

Terminated

Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder

Interventions: Drug: Placebo
Drug: Ketamine

Registration Number: NCT01957410

Lead Sponsor: Janssen Research & Development, LLC

Brief Summary: To evaluate if somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) obtained with electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) can be used to detect changes in cortical plasticity in responders to a single IV infusion of ketamine as compared to non-responders.

Detailed Description: This study will be conducted in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and divided into 2 sequential cohorts. Cohort 1 will be conducted in 12 patients at a single center. For each patient, there will be up to 4 sequential phases: a screening phase of up to 6 weeks, an open-label treatment phase of up to 4 weeks, an optional open-label treatment phase of up to 1 week, and a follow-up phase of up to 1 week (if applicable). Cohort 2 will be conducted in 20 patients and will be a multicenter, double-blind (neither physician nor patient knows the treatment that the patient receives), randomized (the study drug is assigned by chance), placebo-controlled (an inactive substance that is compared with a drug to test whether the drug has a real effect in a clinical trial) design. For each patient, there will be up to 4 sequential phases: a screening phase of up to 6 weeks, a double-blind treatment phase of up to 4 weeks, an optional open-label treatment phase of up to 1 week, and a follow-up phase of up to 1 week (if applicable). The total study duration for each patient will be maximally about 12 weeks. Participant safety will be monitored throughout the study.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: TERMINATED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 13

Inclusion Criteria

Patient must be medically stable
Patient must meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), without psychotic features, based upon clinical assessment and confirmed by the Mini International Psychiatric Interview (MINI)
Patient must have had an inadequate response to at least 2 antidepressants, one of which is in the current episode of depression
Patient must have an Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology 30-item Clinician-rated (IDS-C30) total score ≥ 34 at Screening and Day -1
Women must be postmenopausal, surgically sterile, or, if heterosexually active, practicing a highly effective method of birth control
Men who are heterosexually active with a woman of childbearing potential must agree to use a double barrier method of birth control and to not donate sperm during the study and for 3 months after receiving the last dose of study drug

Exclusion Criteria

Patient has current signs and/or symptoms of liver or renal insufficiency; significant cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurologic, hematologic, rheumatologic, or metabolic disturbances
Patient has a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of current (active) generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa
Patient has a current diagnosis of bipolar disorder, mental retardation, or cluster b personality disorder (e.g., borderline personality disorders, antisocial personality disorder, etc)
Patient has a current or prior diagnosis of a psychotic disorder or MDD with psychosis
Patient has not responded to treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the current episode of depression
Patient has suicidal ideation with intent to act, or has homicidal ideation/intent, during Screening phase per Investigator's clinical judgment
Patient has any significant primary sleep disorder

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo Intravenous (IV)	Placebo	Patients will receive a single IV dose of placebo given as a continuous infusion.
Ketamine Intravenous (IV)	Ketamine	Patients will receive a single IV dose of ketamine given as a continuous infusion.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Comparison of Ketamine Responders and Ketamine Non-responders in the Change From Baseline in Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEPs) Amplitudes at 4 Hours Postdose on Day 1	Baseline and Day 1 (4 hours postdose)	SEPs are the electrical signals generated by the nervous system in response to somatosensory stimuli - typically through electrical stimulation of the median nerve. SEPs are read on the skull with electroencephalography (EEG). SEPs was recorded using a 64-channel EEG system at baseline (predose) and regularly after study drug administration. The change from baseline was calculated as post-baseline value minus baseline value for each participant. Since the number of participants at baseline differ from the number of participants at post-baseline measure (that is \[i.e.\] not all baseline values are paired), the mean change is not equal to the difference between the means at the two time points.
Comparison of Ketamine Responders and Ketamine Non-responders in the Change From Baseline in Motor Evoked Potential (MEPs) Amplitudes at 4 Hours Postdose on Day 1	Baseline and Day 1 (4 hours postdose)	MEPs are generated when stimulation of the brain on the motor cortex (with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation \[TMS\]) causes the spinal cord and peripheral muscles to produce neuroelectrical signals. MEPs are typically measured in the hand muscles. The Motor Evoked Response to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS MEPs) was evaluated at baseline and regularly after study drug administration. Intracortical inhibition and facilitation was also evaluated using TMS. A figure-of-eight coil with external loop diameters of 9 cm was used to elicit motor responses in the contralateral first dorsal interosseus.

Secondary Outcome Measures