Section - CAP Smart Takes

04. Esketamine: A Potential Alternative Treatment for Youth Depression and its Cognitive Effects

Published on February 1, 2024 Certification expiration date: February 2, 2027 DOI: 10.64239/PI-CAPST1804

David R. Rosenberg, M.D.

Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience - Wayne State University School of Medicine

Key Points

Esketamine has shown enhancements in processing speed, working memory, and verbal learning in adolescents with major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation.
More studies are needed to determine esketamine dosing, its long-term side effects, and clinical benefits.

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Greetings! This is David Rosenberg from the Psychopharmacology Institute. In this CAP—or Child and Adolescent Psychiatry—Smart Take, we will focus on a crucial area: The use of esketamine in adolescents suffering from major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation. This topic bears significance due to the widespread interest in ketamine’s powerful, swift effects on adults with depression and suicidal ideation—effects that significantly surpass those of traditional antidepressant treatments, which may require several weeks to manifest. The need for alternate treatment options for adolescent major depressive disorder makes this an intriguing area of study.

Lan and colleagues investigated the short-term cognitive impacts of repeated doses of esketamine in adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation. One notable aspect of their study was its randomized controlled design, involving 51 participants aged 13–18 who received 3 intravenous infusions of either esketamine (0.25 mg/kg) or midazolam (0.02 mg/kg). The study’s findings were quite

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05. Efficacy of Risperidone as Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa

Learning Objectives:

Analyze the effectiveness of escitalopram in treating generalized anxiety disorder in children and adolescents.
Recognize that altered sleep architecture was a potential dose-dependent result of vortioxetine treatment in adolescents with MDD.
Understand the uses of long-acting injectable aripiprazole lauroxil in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Analyze the potential benefits of esketamine in treating adolescent MDD.
Evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of risperidone as a treatment for anorexia nervosa.

Original Release Date: February 1, 2024

Review and Re-release Date: March 1, 2024

Expiration Date: February 1, 2027

Experts: David Rosenberg, M.D.

Medical Editor: Lorena Rodriguez, M.D.

Relevant Financial Disclosures:

None of the faculty, planners, and reviewers for this educational activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose during the last 24 months with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

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This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Medical Academy LLC and the Psychopharmacology Institute. Medical Academy is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians

Credit Designation Statement

Medical Academy designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.