June 20, 2023
Osmind Announces Publication of Largest Real-World Study on Effectiveness of Ketamine Intravenous Therapy for Depression, Anxiety and Suicidal Ideation
Written by
L. Alison McInnes, M.D., M.S. & Kaitlin Rebella
Osmind Announces Publication of Largest Real-World Study on Effectiveness of Ketamine Intravenous Therapy for Depression, Anxiety and Suicidal Ideation
Peer-reviewed analysis reveals improvements in depression and anxiety in more than half of patients and 70% for those with suicidal ideation.
We're proud to announce the results of a new peer-reviewed study on the real-world effectiveness of ketamine intravenous therapy (KIT). Developed in collaboration with a team of clinicians and published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the results demonstrated significant patient improvement for depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation (SI).
The unique study, which is the largest of its kind, specifically found:
- KIT is effective for depression and anxiety. KIT reduced symptoms by at least 50% after six infusions in ~50% of patients for depression and anxiety. Remission rates were ~25%.
- KIT significantly reduces SI. In the sample, 80% of patients reported SI pretreatment. After treatment, 70% of patients experienced improvement and 50% experienced no SI at all.
- Additional infusions help late responders. Of the patient group, 20% achieved responses between 10–12 infusions instead of six.
- Responses to ketamine are stable over time. The antidepressant and antianxiety effects of ketamine do not wane significantly with repeated treatments. During maintenance, up to a year post-induction, increases in symptoms were minimal. In contrast, symptoms return for up to 33% of people using traditional antidepressants.
“There are millions of Americans who need more options to address severe, complex and treatment-resistant mental illnesses,” said the study’s corresponding author and vice president of scientific affairs at Osmind, L. Alison McInnes, MD, MS. “By collaborating with clinicians dedicated to delivering proven, innovative treatments, Osmind is proud to be a driving force and advocate for the understanding and advancement of novel treatment options. Studies of this scale are essential to addressing barriers to care, including potential availability through greater therapeutic development, psychiatrist adoption and affordability through insurance coverage.”
Study uniquely addresses historical barriers to researching KIT
Importantly, this study uniquely addresses historical challenges related to understanding the real-world effectiveness of KIT, including data missingness, placebo effects and regression to the mean. The concordance of outcomes between this study and Osmind’s previous study on acute ketamine outcomes (McInnes et al. 2022) has been striking and unequivocally demonstrates the effectiveness of KIT for depression and suicidal ideation.
Additional details on the data set and methodology can be found in the published study.
Real-world effectiveness studies advance treatment standards and accessibility
Nearly one in 10 Americans suffers from major depressive disorder. Almost one in five people in the U.S. has an anxiety disorder, yet only 35% receive treatment. According to the most recent CDC study, 12.3 million U.S. residents have seriously thought about suicide.
Real-world evidence (RWE) studies are a critical component to making novel psychiatric treatments more accessible for the millions of Americans for whom traditional treatment options do not work. Published RWE is especially important when a treatment has not been FDA-approved, as insurers usually require published evidence of effectiveness in order to consider coverage, resulting in widespread accessibility.
Osmind’s EHR is the connective link between individual patient care and research that advances evidence-based mental health treatment breakthroughs. Osmind collaborates with the research community to analyze anonymized, aggregated data to advance new diagnostics, therapeutics, and precision medicine approaches. For more information about the Osmind platform for mental health clinicians, please visit www.osmind.org/psychiatry-ehr.
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