The effects of intravenous lignocaine and atropine in preventing cardiac arrhythmias were evaluated in forty-five psychiatric patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. During the electrical shock a more prolonged asystole was observed in the lignocaine than in the atropine group. During the tonic-donic seizure ventricular extrasystoles appeared in six atropinized patients. During the postc...

This article reviews 3 current theories of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). One theory points to generalized seizures as essential for the therapeutic efficacy of ECT. Another theory highlights the normalization of neuroendocrine dysfunction in melancholic depression as a result of ECT. A third theory is based on recent findings of increased hippocampal neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in experi...

Anxiety disorders, particularly obsessive compulsive disorder and other related can be crippling cause significant distress impairment. They may very difficult to treat some cases also life threatening. In this review, the authors summarise latest research on efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy in treating refractory anxiety disorders.