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(GluEsk) Glutamate and Esketamine

NCT06432322 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 16

Last updated 2025-06-08

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Esketamine and other antidepressant NMDA receptor antagonists are hypothesised to act by producing a rapid increase in brain glutamate release, which then stimulates α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors. This activity in turn is thought to restore synaptic functioning, neuroplasticity, and connectivity in brain regions involved in mood regulation, which would be ultimately responsible for the antidepressant effect of esketamine. However, the effect of esketamine on glutamate release in humans has not previously been studied. In this study we therefore aim to ascertain the effect of esketamine on dynamic brain glutamate release, resting state connectivity, and neuroplasticity as measured via fMRS, BOLD-rs-fMRI, and a behavioural computerised visual task respectively.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Esketamine nasal spray

Nasal spray solution, 56mg (28mg per nostril), intranasal

OTHER

Placebo

Nasal spray solution, 0.9% NaCl, intranasal

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom

    collaborator OTHER_GOV

  • University of Oxford

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Riccardo De Giorgi, MD, DPhil, MRCPsych · University of Oxford, Department of Psychiatry

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-06-14
Primary Completion
2025-03-26
Completion
2025-03-26

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06432322 on ClinicalTrials.gov