Can a ketamine nasal spray quickly ease severe depression in suicidal teens?
NCT ID NCT07227454
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study tests whether a nasal spray containing esketamine, given alongside standard care, can rapidly reduce symptoms of major depression and suicidal thoughts in adolescents. About 258 teens with acute suicidal ideation or behavior will receive either esketamine or a psychoactive placebo. The main goal is to see if depression scores improve within 24 hours and last through 25 days.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Esketamine (a nasal spray form of ketamine)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a fast-acting option to ease severe depression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers, potentially saving lives during a crisis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a Phase 3 trial, but it's still experimental. Esketamine can cause side effects like dizziness, nausea, or dissociation. The placebo used is a psychoactive drug (midazolam), which may complicate results. Success is not guaranteed.
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
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 258 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2026
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
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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12 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: * Must meet diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edition) (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) based upon clinical assessment and confirmed by the mini-international neuropsychiatric interview for children and adolescents (MINI-KID) * Must have a clinical global impression - severity of suicidality - revised (CGI-SS-R) score of "Markedly" or greater (that is, greater than or equal to \[\>=\] 4) at both screening and baseline (predose) visits * Must have a children's depression rating scale - revised (CDRS-R) total score \>= 58 at baseline (predose) * In the physician's opinion, acute psychiatric hospitalization is clinically warranted due to subject's acute suicidality * Must be medically stable based on physical examination, medical history, vital signs, and 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) performed at screening Exclusion Criteria: * Participant has a current DSM-5 diagnosis of bipolar (or related disorders), intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder * Participant currently meets DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder * Participant has a current or prior DSM-5 diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, or MDD with psychosis * Participant has a history of seizure disorder * Participant has known allergies, hypersensitivity, intolerance or contraindications to midazolam, esketamine or ketamine, or their excipients
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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
39 sites in 7 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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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AOU Meyer
RECRUITINGFlorence, 50134, Italy
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Azienda Ospedaliera G. Brotzu
RECRUITINGCagliari, 09134, Italy
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Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Federico II
RECRUITINGNaples, 80131, Italy
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Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico Riuniti di Foggia
RECRUITINGFoggia, 71122, Italy
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Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Sassari
RECRUITINGSassari, 07100, Italy
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Boston Childrens Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02445, United States
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Bradley Hospital
RECRUITINGEast Providence, Rhode Island, 02915, United States
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Centro Integrado Facili
RECRUITINGSão Bernardo do Campo, 09726 150, Brazil
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Children's National Medical Center
RECRUITINGWashington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States
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Clinica Univ. de Navarra
RECRUITINGPamplona, 31008, Spain
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Debreceni Egyetem Klinikai Kozpont
RECRUITINGDebrecen, 4031, Hungary
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Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital
RECRUITINGEvanston, Illinois, 60201, United States
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Fundacio Althaia Xarxa Assistencial Universitaria de Manresa
RECRUITINGManresa, 08243, Spain
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Hosp Univ Vall D Hebron
RECRUITINGBarcelona, 08035, Spain
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Hosp. Clinic de Barcelona
RECRUITINGBarcelona, 08036, Spain
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Hosp. Gral. Univ. Gregorio Maranon
RECRUITINGMadrid, 28009, Spain
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Hosp. Sant Joan de Deu
RECRUITINGEsplugues de Llobregat, 08950, Spain
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Hosp. Univ. Central de Asturias
RECRUITINGOviedo, 33011, Spain
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Hosp.Univ.Parc Tauli
RECRUITINGSabadell, 08208, Spain
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Hospital Das Clinicas Da Faculdade De Medicina Da USP
RECRUITINGSão Paulo, 05403-900, Brazil
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Instituto Apice
RECRUITINGSalvador, 40170 108, Brazil
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Instituto de Pesquisa Pensi Sandra Mutarelli Setubal
RECRUITINGSão Paulo, 01 227 200, Brazil
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John S Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center at UTHealth Houston
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77021, United States
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Johns Hopkins University
RECRUITINGBaltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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Mackay Memorial Hospital Tamsui Branch
RECRUITINGNew Taipei City, 251, Taiwan
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Mayo Clinic
RECRUITINGRochester, Minnesota, 55905, United States
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National Taiwan University Hospital
RECRUITINGTaipei, 100, Taiwan
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Peachford Hospital-Atlanta Behavioral Research
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30338, United States
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Petz Aladar Megyei Oktato Korhaz
RECRUITINGGyőr, 9023, Hungary
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Presidio Ospedaliero Santa Marta e Santa Venera
RECRUITINGAcireale, 95024, Italy
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Sociedade Literaria e Caritativa Santo Agostinho Hospital Sao Jose
RECRUITINGCriciúma, 88811 000, Brazil
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Spitalul Clinic de Urgenta pentru Copii Cluj Napoca
RECRUITINGCluj-Napoca, 400658, Romania
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Szegedi Tudomanyegyetem
RECRUITINGSzeged, 6720, Hungary
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Taipei Medical University Hospital
RECRUITINGTaipei, 110, Taiwan
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Taipei Veterans General Hospital
RECRUITINGTaipei, 112, Taiwan
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Tri-Service General Hospital
RECRUITINGTaipei, 114, Taiwan
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Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Hospital Universitario Onofre Lopes
RECRUITINGNatal, 59012 300, Brazil
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
RECRUITINGBirmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States
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University of Cincinnati
RECRUITINGCincinnati, Ohio, 45219, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Patients helping patients: a new test for depression care
- Could a new injection keep depression at bay for longer?
- Could a single dose of a new drug boost depression relief?
- Can a new pill ease depression without Add-Ons?
- Brain scans could make TMS for depression more precise
- Can brain training help depressed young adults stop ruminating?