Overlap and Divergence in Ketamine and Lithium Response in Bipolar Disorder: A Scoping Review

Lithium is the standard long-term treatment for bipolar disorder, but only 30% of patients respond, and there is no way to predict who will benefit. Ketamine, a rapid antidepressant, may work better in patients whose symptoms typically predict poor lithium response. This scoping review of 19 preclinical and 23 clinical studies found that ketamine and lithium act on overlapping biological pathways (GSK-3β/mTOR and synaptic plasticity), but the clinical predictors of response diverge: ketamine response is linked to metabolic risk, anxiety, and mixed features—factors that predict poor lithium response. No study directly tested whether ketamine response predicts lithium response. The findings suggest mechanistic overlap but clinical divergence, though sampling bias may confound results.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Lithium remains the first choice for long-term prophylaxis of mood episodes in bipolar disorder (BD), but only 30% of patients will respond, and there is no reliable method by which to predict treatment response. Ketamine is a rapid antidepressant therapy which ostensibly yields greater results in patients with clinical phenotypes that are classically associated with lithium non-response. This inspired a scoping review to map the overlapping and divergent clinical and mechanistic evidence for acute ketamine response and long-term prophylactic lithium therapy in BD. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of clinical and preclinical studies that examine convergent and divergent predictors and mechanisms of acute response to ketamine and long-term response to lithium. Results: Data from 19 preclinical studies show mechanistic convergence of ketamine and lithium on the GSK-3β/mTOR pathways, and enhancement of synaptic plasticity. Furthermore, lithium appears to consistently limit ketamine-related oxidative stress and hyperlocomotion. However, data from the 23 clinical studies suggest divergence of predictors of response to ketamine and lithium in BD, with ketamine response associated with metabolic risk factors, anxiety/mixed features, and non-melancholic presentations, which are generally predictors of poorer prophylactic lithium response. No study directly tested ketamine response as a predictor of prophylactic lithium response. An important limitation is that clinical studies of ketamine are enriched for lithium-refractory populations and have often included mixed unipolar and bipolar cases. Conclusions: Overall, existing data support mechanistic overlap but clinical divergence between ketamine and lithium responders, though this is confounded by sampling bias. We must therefore undertake longitudinal studies of prophylactic lithium therapy among patients with BD who received ketamine for acute antidepressant treatment in order to investigate if responsiveness to ketamine predicts response to lithium, and establish control over BD earlier in the course of illness.