A Pilot Study of Creatine Monohydrate as an Augmenting Agent for ECT in Persons With Major Depressive Disorder

Summary

We propose to determine if augmentation of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) utilized for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) with daily oral creatine will lead to an accelerated response to treatment, an overall increase in response rate, and will protect against cognitive adverse effects associated with ECT. We propose to conduct a two-arm, parallel, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, with a treatment group receiving 20 g oral loading dose of creatine for 1 week starting the day before initiating ECT, followed by 5 g oral creatine daily for roughly five weeks, including the approximately three-week ECT treatment course and a two-week follow-up period. Response to treatment will be assessed using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) at each treatment and the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) at the end of each week.

Timeline

Start

2020-08-03

Primary completion

2023-08-02

Completion

2023-08-02

Drugs

Indications