Electroconvulsive therapy and brain damage

No evident neuronal damage after electroconvulsive therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is regarded as one of the most effective treatments for major depressive disorder but has also been associated with cognitive deficits possibly reflecting brain damage. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate whether ECT induces cerebral damage as reflected by different biochemical measures. The concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of three est...

Propofol and electroconvulsive therapy.

(being a private hospital) where often the most difficult patients are admitted. The situation with restricted patients is differ ent. The RMO has no authority to discharge the patient, although the Home Office could be accused of passing the buck. It is unfair that administrative officers and clerks, hundreds of miles away at the Home Office, should make this decision for some of the most diff...

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive Therapy Induces Neurogenesis in Frontal Rat Brain Areas

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective therapy for several psychiatric disorders, including severe major depression, mania and certain forms of schizophrenia. It had been proposed that ECT acts by modulating local plasticity via the stimulation of neurogenesis. In fact, among antidepressant therapies, ECT is the most robust enhancer of neurogenesis in the hippocampus of rodents and non...

Electroconvulsive Therapy and Medical Illness

Physicians who use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) need to be vigilant for unstable medical conditions before and during the course of treatment. This brief review is intended to highlight some basic principles and specific concerns that may be encountered in the use of ECT in patients who have comorbid medical illness. For more extensive discussions, I refer the reader to recent reviews of ECT...