Case report: Intramuscular ketamine or intranasal esketamine as a treatment in four patients with major depressive disorder and comorbid anorexia nervosa.

A comorbid diagnosis of a depressive disorder is a negative prognostic factor for individuals with AN, and novel treatments are needed to target depressive symptoms in this population. One emerging promising treatment for depressive disorders is ketamine, although there is less research investigating the use of ketamine for alleviating depression in people with AN. This study reports on four patients with a lifetime diagnosis of AN and a comorbid diagnosis of major depressive disorder who received either intramuscular ketamine ( These findings suggest that (es)ketamine may reduce depressive symptoms in people with major depressive disorder and a comorbid diagnosis of AN. Future feasibility and pilot trials are warranted in order to elicit robust data on efficacy, acceptability, safety and tolerability.

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Copyright © 2023 Keeler, Treasure, Himmerich, Brendle, Moore and Robison.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

In the past 3 years, RR has received research support from Usona Institute, Mindmed, Janssen, Merck, Neurocrine Biosciences, Alto Neuroscience, Clexio Biosciences, and Otsuka; and has served as a consultant to MAPS PBC and Janssen. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.