scholarly journals An international perspective on the acceptability and sustainability of electroconvulsive therapy

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Maughan ◽  
Andrew Molodynski
Keyword(s):  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Robust Evidence

There is robust evidence that electroconvulsive therapy is an effective treatment for some mental illnesses. Despite this, its use remains controversial and is declining in some countries, with a consequent loss of skills and knowledge. This, and the view of it as a ‘treatment of last resort’, may undermine its sustainability.

Which Depressed Patients will Respond to Electroconvulsive Therapy?

1989 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan I. F. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Depressive Illness ◽  
Seizure Threshold ◽  
Posterior Pituitary ◽  
Clinical Predictors ◽  
Depressed Patients ◽  
Wide Range

A small yet significant minority of contemporary patients with endogenous depressive illness who are treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) gain little or no benefit. It is argued that the use of clinical features alone may not improve the ability to predict outcome after ECT. Many biological measures have been used to attempt to identify depressed patients for whom ECT would be an effective treatment, but none has yet been shown to be superior to clinical predictors. Depressed patients show a wide range of physiological responses to the first treatment of a course of ECT. Of these physiological responses, estimations of seizure threshold and of the release of posterior pituitary peptides merit further investigation as putative predictors of recovery.

scholarly journals Model for ethical triaging of electroconvulsive therapy patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Phern-Chern Tor ◽  
Jacinta Tan ◽  
Colleen Loo
Keyword(s):  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Medical Resources ◽  
Resource Limitations

Summary Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an essential treatment for severe mental illnesses such as depression with suicidality and catatonia. However, its availability is being threatened by resource limitations and infection concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This may necessitate the triage of patients for ECT but there is no established ethical framework to prioritise patients. We offer an application of an ethical framework for use of scare medical resources in the ECT setting.

Major Depression in Down's Syndrome

1989 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Warren ◽  
S. Holroyd ◽  
M. F. Folstein
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Trisomy 21 ◽  
Down's Syndrome ◽  
Down’S Syndrome ◽  
Behavioural Deterioration

Five patients with trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome (DS)), referred to us for evaluation of dementia, were instead found to have major depression. All had shown cognitive and behavioural deterioration and this had led to a mistaken diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in two. We outline and contrast the features of major depression and Alzheimer's disease in DS, and suggest that electroconvulsive therapy is an effective treatment for major depression in DS.

Electroconvulsive Therapy in Parkinsonism with Affective Disorder

1988 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nutan Atre-Vaidya ◽  
V. Chowdary Jampala
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Affective Disorder ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
First Report

The authors report a patient whose Parkinson's disease and mania both responded well to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) after failing to respond to chemotherapy. The authors review the literature and suggest that ECTis a safe and effective treatment for affective syndromes associated with Parkinsonism. The presence of dementia in these patients appears to be an indicator of poor prognosis. This paper is believed to be the first report of successful use of ECT in mania occurring together with Parkinsonism.

scholarly journals Electroconvulsive therapy for depression: 80 years of progress

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
George Kirov ◽  
Sameer Jauhar ◽  
Pascal Sienaert ◽  
Charles H. Kellner ◽  
Declan M. McLoughlin
Keyword(s):  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Treatment Resistant Depression ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Resistant Depression

Electroconvulsive therapy is the most effective treatment for severe, psychotic or treatment-resistant depression. However, its effectiveness continues to be questioned, both in mainstream media and narratives within the scientific literature. In this analysis, we use an evidence-based approach to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of modern electroconvulsive therapy.

ECT: Physiology, Indications, and Treatment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Fink
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Dementia Praecox ◽  
Brain Wave ◽  
Grand Mal ◽  
Key Words Anesthesia ◽  
Pituitary Glands

Inducing grand mal seizures (electroshock, electroconvulsive therapy) developed as an effective treatment to alleviate the psychosis of dementia praecox. Clinicians quickly recognized that seizures also relieved depressed moods, suicide risk, catatonia, manic excitement, and delirium. It is an unheralded, often stigmatized, medical achievement. Seizures may be induced chemically or with electric or magnetic currents. Grand mal seizures must be repeated for persistent benefits. Not all seizures are equally effective. Effective seizures are marked by bilateral electroencephalographic brain wave changes and neuroendocrine discharges from hypothalamic-pituitary glands. Treatments are remarkably safe, with zero mortality. Immediate effects on memory are common but are almost always transient. They are not a practical deterrent to the treatments, although they are widely cited to reject its use. The stigmatization of induced seizures that places it as a “last resort” therapy is wasteful and unethical. It offers a remarkable opportunity for advancement in neuroscience.  This review contains 4 figures, 3 tables, and 90 references. Key words: anesthesia, bipolar disorder, catatonia, delirium, electroconvulsive therapy, electroencephalography, major depression, melancholia, neuroendocrine, seizures

ECT in schizophrenia: a review of the evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (03) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Grover ◽  
Swapnajeet Sahoo ◽  
Anjumoni Rabha ◽  
Raman Koirala
Keyword(s):  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Treatment Resistance ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Predictors Of Response ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

AbstractElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was initially used for the treatment of schizophrenia, but over the years with the advent of antipsychotics, its use in schizophrenia has been limited. Treatment guidelines vary in their recommendations for the use of ECT in schizophrenia. The usual indications of its use among patients with schizophrenia include treatment resistance, to augment pharmacotherapy, to manage catatonia, suicidal behaviour, severe agitation and clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. Available literature, including meta-analysis and systematic reviews, suggest that ECT is a safe and effective treatment in patients with schizophrenia. However, despite the available evidence, it is highly underutilised and is often used as one of the last resort among patients with schizophrenia. This review focuses on the indications of use of ECT in schizophrenia, studies evaluating its effectiveness, efficacy in certain special situations like first episode schizophrenia, adolescents, catatonia etc., predictors of response to ECT in schizophrenia and influence of various ECT-related parameters on efficacy/effectiveness among patients with schizophrenia. From the review, it can be concluded that ECT is not only is beneficial as an augmenting strategy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia but also can be used effectively in patients with schizophrenia in various other situations.

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