Jason M. Tucciarone, Igor D. Bandeira, Christine Blasey, Ian H. Kratter, Jarrod Ehrie, Jennifer Keller, Heather Pankow, Maureen Chang, Jessica Hawkins, Audrey G. Evers, Rebecca Bernert, Charles DeBattista, Henry Truong, Carolyn I. Rodriguez, Boris D. Heifets, Alan F. Schatzberg
OBJECTIVE: Ketamine rapidly reduces suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder (MDD), but its effects are transient. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that ketamine's antidepressant and antisuicidal effects may be partly mediated by mu-opioid receptor (MOR) modulation. The authors investigated the efficacy and safety of low-dose sublingual buprenorphine, a partial MOR agonist, as a follow-on treatment to prolong the effects of intravenous ketamine. METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at a single outpatient center in the United States. Adults with MDD and a total score ≥6 on the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either sublingual buprenorphine (0.2 to 0.8 mg/day) or a matched placebo for 4 weeks, beginning 48 hours after a single open-label intravenous ketamine infusion (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes). The primary outcome was the change in SSI total score, assessed weekly from day 1 through day 31. RESULTS: From November 2020 to March 2025, 50 participants (68% female) received ketamine, of whom 45 completed at least 1 week of follow-on treatment. Both groups showed significant reductions in SSI total scores, with greater improvement in the buprenorphine group (mean change, -11.6, SD=5.8; N=23) than the placebo group (mean change, -6.3, SD=7; N=22) (Glass delta=0.76, 95% CI=0.11, 1.39). Mixed-effects modeling showed a significant time-by-treatment interaction (p<0.001). Depression scores did not differ significantly between groups. No serious treatment-related adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: This randomized controlled trial provides the first evidence that a pharmacological intervention, buprenorphine, significantly sustains and enhances the antisuicidal effects of ketamine in MDD. These findings offer a potentially scalable and safe therapeutic option for a population at risk of suicide.