Use of Transmucosal Ketamine in Post Stroke Depression

Studies have shown that ketamine is very effective and has a quick onset in treatment of depression. Most of these studies used intravenous ketamine in an inpatient setting and there are no large trials examining its use in Post Stroke Depression (PSD). There have been only few studies that have used other routes of administration (i.e., oral, transmucosal, intranasal, intramuscular) of ketamine which provided symptom relief for depression. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of use of transmucosal ketamine in treatment of PSD. We hypothesize that fast acting antidepressant effects can be achieved with tolerable side effects for translation into the general post-stroke population. To test our hypothesis, the specific aim is to: (1) demonstrate that transmucosal administration of ketamine is feasible within the post-stroke depression population and has tolerable side effects. Exploratory aims will include assessment if ketamine also produces fast acting antidepressant effects.