Study exploring ketamine as a treatment for people with anorexia and major depressive disorder seeks participants
Posted On: Tuesday 7th October 2025
Summary
The EDEN study (A Randomised-controlled Feasibility Study of Ketamine for the Treatment of Depression with Anorexia Nervosa), led by Consultant Psychiatrist and Reader in Eating Disorders, Dr Hubertus Himmerich, is the first study of its kind investigating the feasibility of oral ketamine vs placebo in people with both anorexia nervosa and major depressive disorder. Dr Himmerich and the EDEN study team, based at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, explain more about the study, and what it involves as they move into the recruitment phase.
Full Story
The EDEN study is a preliminary feasibility study, where the main goal is to assess the recruitment, assessment response rate and drop-out rate as indicators of feasibility of the treatment, with secondary measures including assessing acceptability of the intervention, collecting additional outcome measures and gathering data on the safety and tolerability of oral ketamine. We conduct studies like this to help us get an early indicator of whether a larger definitive trial would be feasible and likely to show effectiveness in this population.
Selected participants will be randomly allocated to receive either ketamine, or a placebo, which they will then take twice a week across a period of four weeks, with eight dosing sessions in total. These sessions will take place at the NIHR King's Clinical Research Facility based at King's College Hospital in Camberwell.
Measurements of depression, anorexia symptoms, suicidality, and quality of life will be collected at baseline and at follow up at 28 days, three months and six months. Additionally, participants and their carers have the option to participate in semi-structured interviews and digital diaries to explore the experience of the trial and help design and optimise future studies.
The study is funded by the Medical Research Council Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme