Ketamine therapy for teen PTSD: early safety trial halted
NCT ID NCT06378528
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early-phase study tested whether ketamine-assisted psychotherapy is safe and feasible for adolescents aged 15-17 with severe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Five participants were to receive three intravenous ketamine doses paired with therapy sessions over six weeks. The study is currently suspended, and its main goal was to check for side effects and whether teens could stick with the treatment plan.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 5 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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15 to 17 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 15-17 years old, inclusive * At baseline, meet threshold for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) criteria for current PTSD as determined by the CAPS-CA. * Medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of physical examination, medical history, and the clinical judgement of the evaluating study medical provider * Must agree to inform the investigators within 48 hours of any emergent medical conditions and procedures * If of childbearing potential, must have a negative pregnancy test at study entry and prior to each KAP dosing session, and must agree to use adequate birth control through 10 days after the last KAP dosing session. * Must agree not to participate in any other interventional clinical trials during the duration of the study * Must be willing to comply with all study procedures * A primary parent or guardian is willing to provide informed consent * Are fluent in or predominantly speaking and reading in English Exclusion Criteria: * Caregiver or adolescent is unwilling or unable to give adequate informed consent * Are likely, in the investigator's opinion and via observation during the Preparatory Period, to be re-exposed to their index trauma or other significant trauma, lack social support, or lack a stable living situation during study participation. * Any finding(s), based on the screening process, that the PI feels would make the study unsuitable for the participant. * Current diagnosis of or history of a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or autism spectrum disorder diagnosed by the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS) interview and clinician judgement. No other co-morbid disorders are exclusionary. * Intellectual disability (IQ\<70) per medical history * History of moderate to severe substance use disorder, as determined by the KSADS and/or clinician judgement (excluding tobacco), or active substance use (including current alcohol use or positive urine toxicology) * Any prior exposure to sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine (including prior research or clinical psychiatric treatment with ketamine and/or recreational use) * Any participant presenting current serious suicide risk, as determined through the KSADS, responses to Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), and/or clinical judgment of the investigator, will be excluded; however, history of suicide attempts prior to enrollment is not an exclusion. * Would present a serious risk to others as established through clinical interview and contact with treating physician. * Current use benzodiazepines, opiates, or lamotrigine, which are hypothesized to interfere with ketamine's mechanism of action * High blood pressure (BP) at the time of screening, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be BP greater than 130/80. * Persons who have previously received ketamine therapeutically or taken it recreationally. * Are pregnant, nursing, or are able to become pregnant and are not practicing an effective means of birth control. * Persons who are known to have a hypersensitivity to ketamine * Participants that are deemed not to be medically and neurologically healthy on the basis of physical examination, medical history, and the clinical judgement of the Study Medical Provider or qualified designee in order to participate. * Examples of medical rule-outs include but are not limited to: unstable hypertension, recent severe neurologic injury, a history or current signs/symptoms of liver or renal insufficiency, and current diagnoses of cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurologic, hematologic, rheumatologic, or metabolic disorders that are deemed clinically significant based on investigator judgement.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, 53705, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can ketamine rewire fear memories to ease PTSD?
- Rewiring the mind after trauma: a new therapy aims to change how we process painful events
- Can a drug combo or therapy dogs ease PTSD?
- Sensory training may rewire how veterans cope with PTSD