Can a nasal spray break through tough depression?
NCT ID NCT06103760
First seen Aug 12, 2026 · Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial is testing whether esketamine nasal spray, when added to a person's usual antidepressant, can help adults with major depression who haven't improved after trying two or more medications. Participants will receive supervised esketamine treatments over several weeks and complete questionnaires to track mood and functioning. The study aims to see how well esketamine works in real-world settings and which patients might benefit most.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Esketamine nasal spray (Spravato)
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this could offer a new option for people with hard-to-treat depression, potentially improving symptoms and daily functioning when standard antidepressants haven't worked.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, uncontrolled study without a placebo group, so results may not prove esketamine's benefit. Esketamine can cause side effects like dizziness, nausea, and temporary blood pressure changes, and not everyone may respond.
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 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 162 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2023
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
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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18 to 65 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: 1. Adults aged 18-65 years old 2. Diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) 3. Currently depressed 4. Had an inadequate response to 2 or more courses of antidepressants (of adequate dose and duration) 5. Be maintained on their current antidepressant medication or psychological therapy at the time of enmrolment 6. Able to understand and provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. Concurrent diagnoses: * Participants with other 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM-5) e.g., current substance misuse disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia * Participants who are unable to understand the study and therefore unable to provide informed consent 2. Pregnancy: * Participants who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding * Participants who are not willing to avoid pregnancy for themselves or their partners during the study by using effective birth control methods 3. Current medications: * Participants taking a total daily dose of benzodiazepines greater than the equivalent of 6mg/day of lorazepam * Participants on complementary and alternative medicine therapies i.e., St John's wort, Chinese medicines, and various herbal and homeopathic treatments 4. Stimulants * Participants taking stimulants such as methylphenidate, amphetamine, and dextroamphetamine for a diagnosis such as ADHD can still have Esketamine provided they do not continue taking stimulants concurrently for the duration of the study. * Concurrent use is excluded due to the synergistic effect with Esketamine that can cause increased blood pressure. 5. Medical history: * Participants with current or past history of seizures (uncomplicated childhood febrile seizures with no sequelae are not exclusionary) * Participants with a history of uncontrolled hypertension * Participants with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus * Participants with aneurysmal vascular disease including thoracic and abdominal aorta, intracranial and peripheral arterial vessels, or arteriovenous malformation, intracerebral haemorrhage * Participants with untreated glaucoma, current penetrating or perforating eye injury, brain injury, hypertensive encephalopathy, intrathecal therapy with ventricular shunts, or any other condition associated with increased intracranial pressure or increased intraocular pressure or planned eye surgery * Participants who are currently receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or have received ECT in the past month. 6. Substance Misuse History: * Participants who have ever had a substance misuse disorder involving any of the following over their lifetime: ketamine, phencyclidine (PCP), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), or other hallucinogen use history * Participants with hypersensitivity to Esketamine, Ketamine, or any of the 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
1 site. 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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Royal North Shore Hospital
RECRUITINGSt Leonards, New South Wales, 2065, Australia
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can intense brain zaps lift depression? scientists track blood flow in real time
- Can an ancient herbal capsule boost antidepressant power?
- Can talk therapy keep Esketamine's relief going?
- Can brisk walking boost antidepressant results?
- Scientists probe brain's reward system in mental illness