Nitrous Oxide for Late-Life Depression - PROTO-BRAIN

Summary

Resistant Depression is a common condition in older adults and there is an urgent need for novel antidepressant in this population. Nitrous Oxide (N2O) has recently shown rapid antidepressant effect in midlife depression but no study has currently investigated the efficacy and safety of N2O in Late-Life Depression (LLD), while N2O may prove to be an ideal treatment for LLD because of glutamatergic antagonism and cerebrovascular effects and also a relatively good safety profile. The goal of our study is to compare changes in depressive symptoms after 2 hours, 24 hours, 1 week and 2 week of a 1-hour exposure to EMONO (Equimolar Mixture of Oxygen and Nitrous Oxide) versus Medical Air. Secondary Objectives include comparing differences in neuroimaging measures between 3 groups (responders and non-responders in the EMONO group, and patients in the control group).

Timeline

Start

2021-11-16

Primary completion

2024-12-19

Completion

2024-12-19

Publications

• Salame A, Bulteau S, Robert G, Vandevelde A, Gissot V, Agier MS, Gallet Q, Nkodo JA, Leroy V, Brunault P, Bourgoin H, Arlicot N, Espitalier F, Le Gouge A, El-Hage W, Camus V, Poupin P, Desmidt T. Nitrous oxide for late-life depression with inadequate antidepressant response: a randomised controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine. 2026 Apr 2;94:103860. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.103860. eCollection 2026 Apr.

Drugs

Indications