---
title: Treat Parkinsons depression with ketamine
nct_id: NCT06402955
phase: PHASE2
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: Yale University
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06402955"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06402955"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:02:42.916Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Treat Parkinsons depression with ketamine

**Goal (in five words):** Treat Parkinsons depression with ketamine

**Official Title:** Identifying the Neural Basis of Depression in Parkinson's Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT06402955](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06402955)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** PHASE2
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** Yale University
- **Target Enrollment:** 120 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-09-01
- **Completion Date:** 2029-01-01
- **Conditions:** Parkinson's Disease, Major Depressive Disorder
- **Interventions:** 11C-UCB-J, ketamine hydrochloride
- **Intervention Types:** RADIATION, DRUG

## Summary For Families

They want to pin down the brain changes that underlie depression in Parkinson's, by measuring synaptic differences between people with and without depression and seeing how those patterns change after an antidepressant. Participants get PET scans with 11C-UCB-J, a tracer that binds the synaptic protein SV2A to estimate synaptic density, and people with depressed Parkinson's will receive a ketamine infusion, which blocks NMDA receptors and triggers a rapid glutamate-driven burst of synapse formation that can lift mood; ketamine is not a dopamine drug and does not replace levodopa. The trial enrolls adults 40 to 80 with Parkinson's, the depressed arm requires at least moderate symptoms (MADRS ≥15), and it excludes people with dementia (MoCA <21), other major psychiatric or unstable medical conditions, medications that affect SV2A such as levetiracetam, uncontrolled hypertension for ketamine recipients, or MRI/PET contraindications. Participants receiving ketamine must avoid drugs of abuse during the study and be able to give informed consent in English.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Maximum age:** 80 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 40-80.
2. For women of reproductive potential, a negative pregnancy test at screening and scanning
3. For PD patients, clinical diagnosis of PD, able to consent and tolerate PET procedures
4. For PD depression patients - at least moderate symptom severity as determined by at least 15 on the MADRS, which has shown maximum discrimination between depressed and non-depressed PD patients.
5. For dPD patients undergoing ketamine, abstinence from drugs of abuse, other than alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and caffeine for the duration of the study. Patients with substance use disorders as defined by the DSM-5 will be excluded.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Dementia (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score \<21)
2. A significant primary DSM-5 psychiatric disorder except for MDD
3. A history of or current significant medical (e.g. cardiovascular, renal), or neurological (e.g. cerebrovascular, seizure, traumatic brain injury) illness other than PD that is unstable and significantly increase their risk and/or might affect the study objectives, as determined by study physicians.
4. Prior radiation exposure for research purposes within such that participation in this study would place them over FDA limits for annual radiation exposure
5. Medications affecting SV2A availability (e.g. levetiracetam)
6. For dPD patients receiving ketamine, uncontrolled hypertension, defined as average blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or an average diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg among those patients who have hypertension.
7. Contraindications to MRI.
8. For patients undergoing arterial sampling for the PET scan: Iodine allergy, bleeding disorder and/or use of blood thinning medication
9. Inability to provide written informed consent according to the Yale Human Investigation Committee (HIC) guidelines in English.
```

## Locations (1)

- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States _(41.3081, -72.9282)_
  - Sophie Holmes, PhD — (CONTACT) — 203-685-4066 — sophie.holmes@yale.edu

## Central Contacts

- Sophie Holmes — (CONTACT) — 2036854066 — sophie.holmes@yale.edu
- Libby DiDomizio — (CONTACT) — 2039476313 — libby.didomizio@yale.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06402955*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06402955*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06402955*