Ketamine therapy for teen PTSD: early safety trial halted

NCT ID NCT06378528

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused This study
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

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.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Early phase 1

The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.

Participants

About 5 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Sep 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Sep 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

15 to 17 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

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.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. 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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  3. 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

  • University of Wisconsin

    Madison, Wisconsin, 53705, United States

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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.