Depression is a common illness affecting about 5% of adults worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Feeling sad, irritable, losing pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable, and sometimes experiencing unexplained pain or fatigue for weeks at a time are all symptoms of depression.
To be diagnosed with depression, the symptoms must be present for at least two weeks.
In a study from Harvard University and elsewhere, scientists found that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is better at quickly relieving major depression than ketamine.
Most people diagnosed with depression are offered an oral antidepressant (in combination with psychotherapy) as a first-line treatment option.
But if oral antidepressants don’t help, or if the person is at imminent risk of hurting themselves, there are other, more rapid treatment options: ECT, and more recently ketamine or esketamine.
Esketamine, a nasal spray approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat depression, is more commonly used in the US than ketamine.
In the study, the team analyzed six clinical trial studies from around the world comparing ketamine with ECT for major depression.
The studies looked at 340 patients in total, and were conducted in hospitals in Sweden, Germany, Iran and India.
The team found all five of the studies independently found that ECT was more effective than ketamine at relieving severe depression symptoms.
ECT is consistently more successful than ketamine at helping patients with serious depression.
The team found no differences by age, sex, or geographic location. They suggest anyone who is ECT-eligible will benefit.
Although ketamine did generally help patients, ECT had better results overall. Ketamine could be a viable treatment for people who cannot undergo ECT.
The side effect profiles of the two treatments differed, with ECT more likely to cause headaches, muscle pain and memory loss, while ketamine was more likely to cause dissociative symptoms, vertigo and double vision.
There are two additional ongoing studies comparing ECT and ketamine, and the team hopes to add their data to the analysis when they are available.
If you care about depression, please read studies about drug that can reduce depression and suicidal thoughts, and 10 easy self-care tips for depression you need to know.
For more information about depression, please see recent studies about 10 ways you can overcome depression, and results showing Ketamine strongly reduces depression and suicide.
The study was conducted by T. Greg Rhee et al and published in JAMA Psychiatryon.
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