Electroconvulsive therapy: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Medical procedure in which electrical current is passed through the brain}} |
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{{Redirect|Electroshock}} |
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'''Electroconvulsive therapy''', also known as '''electroshock''' or '''ECT''', is a type of [[psychiatry|psychiatric]] [[shock therapy]] involving the induction of an artificial [[seizure]] in a patient by passing [[electricity]] through the [[brain]]. Researchers do not understand how ECT affects the [[Mental status examination|mental state]], though patients with a variety of conditions have shown short-term improvement after the procedure. Large segments of the public came to view ECT in a negative light after several unfavorable depictions in popular books and films, and the treatment remains controversial. |
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{{Infobox medical intervention |
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| Name = Electroconvulsive therapy |
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| synonyms = Electroshock therapy |
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| Image = MECTA_spECTrum_ECT.jpg |
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| Caption = MECTA spECTrum 5000Q with [[electroencephalogram|electroencephalography]] (EEG) in a modern ECT suite |
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| ICD10 = {{ICD10PCS|GZB|G/Z/B}} |
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| ICD9 = {{ICD9proc|94.27}} |
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| OPS301 = {{OPS301|8-630}} |
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| MeshID = D004565 |
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| MedlinePlus = 007474 |
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| OtherCodes = |
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}} |
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'''Electroconvulsive therapy''' ('''ECT''') or '''electroshock therapy''' ('''EST''') is a [[psychiatry|psychiatric]] treatment during which a generalized [[seizure]] (without muscular [[convulsion]]s) is electrically induced to manage refractory [[mental disorder]]s.<ref name="Rudorfer">{{cite book | vauthors = Rudorfer MV, Henry ME, Sackeim HA | date = 2003| chapter-url = http://media.wiley.com/assets/138/93/UK_Tasman_Chap92.pdf | chapter =Electroconvulsive therapy | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070810172506/http://media.wiley.com/assets/138/93/UK_Tasman_Chap92.pdf | archive-date=2007-08-10 | veditors = Tasman A, Kay J, Lieberman JA | title = Psychiatry | edition = Second | location = Chichester | publisher = John Wiley & Sons Ltd | pages = 1865–1901 }}</ref> Typically, 70 to 120 [[volt]]s are applied externally to the patient's head, resulting in approximately 800 [[amperes|milliamperes]] of direct current passing between the electrodes, for a duration of 100 [[millisecond]]s to 6 seconds, either from temple to temple (bilateral ECT) or from front to back of one side of the head (unilateral ECT). However, only about 1% of the electrical current crosses the bony skull into the brain because skull [[Electrical impedance|impedance]] is about 100 times higher than skin impedance.<ref>{{Cite web | vauthors = Solano J |date=2009-04-20 |title=Electroconvulsive Therapy |url=https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/fumie.costen/tmp/ect.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218125601/https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/fumie.costen/tmp/ect.pdf |archive-date=2022-02-18 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-05-17|page=4}}</ref> |
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ECT was first introduced as a treatment for [[schizophrenia]] in the [[1930s]], and quickly became adopted as a common treatment method for [[mood disorder]]s—and as a dreaded mechanism for disciplining unruly psychiatric inpatients. Currently, in most countries, electroshock is administered under [[anaesthesia]] and [[muscle relaxants]] and continues to be used for the treatment of several, typically severe, psychiatric conditions, occupying a narrow but important niche in modern psychiatry. Electroshock without anaesthesia is referred to as "unmodified ECT" or "direct ECT", and is illegal in most countries. |
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Aside from effects on the brain, the general physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief [[general anesthesia]].<ref name="SG">Surgeon General (1999). [http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html ''Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General''], chapter 4.</ref>{{rp|259}} Immediately following treatment, the most common adverse effects are confusion and transient memory loss.<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref name="APA2001guideline">{{cite book|last=American Psychiatric Association|title=The practice of electroconvulsive therapy: recommendations for treatment, training, and privileging|edition=2nd|location=Washington, DC|publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuuLJtmo_EYC|isbn=978-0-89042-206-9|author2= Committee on Electroconvulsive Therapy|author3= Richard D. Weiner (chairperson)|display-authors=etal }}</ref> Among treatments for severely depressed pregnant women, ECT is one of the least harmful to the [[fetus]].<ref name=Pompili2014Rev>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pompili M, Dominici G, Giordano G, Longo L, Serafini G, Lester D, Amore M, Girardi P | title = Electroconvulsive treatment during pregnancy: a systematic review | journal = Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics | volume = 14 | issue = 12 | pages = 1377–1390 | date = December 2014 | pmid = 25346216 | doi = 10.1586/14737175.2014.972373 | s2cid = 31209001 }}</ref> |
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==Current usage== |
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Currently ECT is mainly used to treat severe [[Clinical depression|depression]], particularly if complicated by [[psychosis]] (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985; Depression Guideline Panel, 1993; Potter & Rudorfer, 1993). It is also used in cases of severe depression where [[antidepressant]] medication (sometimes in multiple courses), [[psychotherapy]], or both have proven ineffective ([[refractory depression]]) (Potter et al., 1991; Depression Guideline Panel, 1993), when medication cannot be taken, or when other treatments would be too slow (for example, in a person with delusional depression and intense, unremitting [[suicide|suicidal]] tendencies). Specific indications include depression accompanied by a physical illness or [[pregnancy]], which renders the use of the usually preferred antidepressants dangerous to the patient or to a developing [[fetus]]. Under such circumstances, carefully weighing risks and benefits, some psychiatrists consider ECT to be the safest treatment option for severe depression. It is also sometimes used to treat the [[mania|manic phase]] of [[bipolar disorder]] and in the uncommon condition of [[catatonia]]. |
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ECT is often used as an intervention for [[major depressive disorder]], [[mania]], [[autism]], and [[catatonia]].<ref name=FDA2011rev>FDA. [http://psychrights.org/research/digest/Electroshock/FinalECT515iFDAReport.pdf FDA Executive Summary]. Prepared for the January 27–28, 2011 meeting of the Neurological Devices Panel Meeting to Discuss the Classification of Electroconvulsive Therapy Devices (ECT). Quote, p. 38: "Three major practice guidelines have been published on ECT. These guidelines include: APA Task Force on ECT (2001); Third report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT (2004); National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE 2003; NICE 2009). There is significant agreement between the three sets of recommendations."</ref> The usual course of ECT involves multiple administrations, typically given two or three times per week until the patient no longer has symptoms. ECT is administered under anesthesia with a [[muscle relaxant]].<ref>Margarita Tartakovsky (2012) Psych Central. [http://psychcentral.com/lib/5-outdated-beliefs-about-ect/00011255 5 Outdated Beliefs About ECT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808042410/http://psychcentral.com/lib/5-outdated-beliefs-about-ect/00011255 |date=2013-08-08 }}</ref> ECT can differ in its application in three ways: electrode placement, treatment frequency, and the electrical waveform of the stimulus. These treatment parameters can pose significant differences in both adverse side effects and symptom remission in the treated patient. |
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Recent [[epidemiology|epidemiological]] surveys in the [[United States]] show that the modern use of ECT is generally limited to evidence-based indications (Hermann et al., 1999). Indeed, concern has been raised that in some settings, particularly in the public sector and outside major metropolitan areas, ECT may be underutilized due to the wide variability in the availability of this treatment across the country (Hermann et al., 1995). Consequently, minority patients tend to be underrepresented among those receiving ECT (Rudorfer et al., 1997). |
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Placement can be bilateral, where the electric current is passed from one side of the brain to the other, or unilateral, in which the current is solely passed across one [[Brain hemisphere|hemisphere]] of the brain. High-dose unilateral ECT has some cognitive advantages compared to moderate-dose bilateral ECT while showing no difference in antidepressant efficacy.<ref name="pmid27780482">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kolshus E, Jelovac A, McLoughlin DM | title = Bitemporal v. high-dose right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials | journal = Psychological Medicine | volume = 47 | issue = 3 | pages = 518–530 | date = February 2017 | pmid = 27780482 | pmc = | doi = 10.1017/S0033291716002737 | url = https://www.stpatricks.ie/media/1839/bitemporal-v-high-dose-right-unilateral-electroconvulsive-therapy-for-depression-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-of-randomized-controlled-trials.pdf | url-status = live | s2cid = 10711085 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210616111055/https://www.stpatricks.ie/media/1839/bitemporal-v-high-dose-right-unilateral-electroconvulsive-therapy-for-depression-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-of-randomized-controlled-trials.pdf | archive-date = 2021-06-16 }}</ref> |
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ECT should be administered under controlled conditions, with appropriate personnel (Rudorfer et al., 1997) and some [[mental health law]]s mandate this. |
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== History== |
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[[File:Bergonic chair.jpg|thumb|A ''Bergonic chair'', a device "for giving general electric treatment for psychological effect, in psycho-neurotic cases", according to original photo description. World War I era.]] |
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The aim of ECT is to induce a bilateral [[grand mal seizure]] (with contractions and twitching of both sides of the body) which lasts at least 60 seconds. |
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{{Further|History of electroconvulsive therapy in the United Kingdom|History of electroconvulsive therapy in the United States}} |
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As early as the 16th century, agents to induce seizures were used to treat psychiatric conditions. In 1785, the therapeutic use of seizure induction was documented in the ''[[London Medical and Surgical Journal]]''.<ref name="Rudorfer" /><ref>[http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/37146/A-History-of-Mental-Institutions-in-the-United-States/#vars!panel=403723! A History of Mental Institutions in the United States] which says electrostatic machines were used in 1773</ref> As to its earliest antecedents one doctor claims 1744 as the dawn of electricity's therapeutic use, as documented in the first issue of ''Electricity and Medicine''. Treatment and cure of [[Conversion disorder|hysterical blindness]] was documented eleven years later. [[Benjamin Franklin]] wrote that an electrostatic machine cured "a woman of hysterical fits." By 1801, [[James Lind (physician, born 1736)|James Lind]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lind, James (1736–1812) on JSTOR|url=https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000033179|access-date=2021-05-08|website=plants.jstor.org|doi=}}</ref> as well as [[Giovanni Aldini]] had used [[galvanism]] to treat patients with various mental disorders.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Parent A | title = Giovanni Aldini: from animal electricity to human brain stimulation | journal = The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. Le Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques | volume = 31 | issue = 4 | pages = 576–584 | date = November 2004 | pmid = 15595271 | doi = 10.1017/s0317167100003851 | doi-access = free }}</ref> G.B.C. Duchenne, the mid-19th century "Father of Electrotherapy", said its use was integral to a neurological practice.<ref>{{cite journal |title=An Historical Review of Electro Convulsive Therapy | vauthors = Wright BA |url= http://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=jeffjpsychiatry |journal=Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry |pages=66–74}}</ref> |
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Before the discovery of [[muscle relaxants]], ECT was given unmodified. The patients were rendered instantly unconscious by the electrical current but the strength of the muscle contractions from the electricity and the subsequent fit at times led to complications such as compression fractures of the spine or damage to the teeth. Muscle relaxants allow a modified fit where the strength of the contractions is minor or even nonexistent. However, the use of muscle relaxants requires that the patient is first given a general anaesthesia to prevent the patient from experiencing the very uncomfortable state of being paralysed. The end result is that the patient drifts off to sleep and wakes up a short time later unable to recall the details of the procedure. |
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In the second half of the 19th century, such efforts were frequent enough in British asylums as to make it notable.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Beveridge AW, Renvoize EB | title = Electricity: a history of its use in the treatment of mental illness in Britain during the second half of the 19th century | journal = The British Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 153 | issue = 2 | pages = 157–162 | date = August 1988 | pmid = 3076490 | doi = 10.1192/bjp.153.2.157 | url = http://www.breggin.com/ECT/ElctyHistoryUseTrtmntBritain.pdf | access-date = 28 December 2014 | url-status = dead | s2cid = 31015334 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194358/http://www.breggin.com/ECT/ElctyHistoryUseTrtmntBritain.pdf | archive-date = 23 September 2015 }}</ref> |
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To induce the seizure, short bursts of a fixed current (typically 0.9 [[Ampere|A]]) are passed through electrodes applied to the scalp at specific points using a gel, paste or saline solution to prevent burns to the skin. Modern ECT machines regulate the current to keep it constant and thus the voltage may vary up to a maximum, typically 450 [[Volt|V]], but is usually around half that level in most cases. Modern machines are usually set in [[joule]]s. The ECT therapist tries to keep the total energy as low as possible by restricting the strength and duration of the shock. The existence of the seizure is confirmed by observation or by [[Electroencephalography|EEG]] [[neuromonitoring]][http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p980570.html]. |
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Convulsive therapy was introduced in 1934 by Hungarian neuropsychiatrist [[Ladislas J. Meduna]] who, believing mistakenly that [[schizophrenia]] and [[epilepsy]] were antagonistic disorders, induced seizures first with [[camphor]] and then [[metrazol]] (cardiazol).<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Berrios GE | title = The scientific origins of electroconvulsive therapy: a conceptual history | journal = History of Psychiatry | volume = 8 | issue = 29 pt 1 | pages = 105–119 | date = March 1997 | pmid = 11619203 | doi = 10.1177/0957154X9700802908 | s2cid = 12121233 }}</ref><ref name="Fink-history">{{cite journal | vauthors = Fink M | title = Meduna and the origins of convulsive therapy | journal = The American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 141 | issue = 9 | pages = 1034–1041 | date = September 1984 | pmid = 6147103 | doi = 10.1176/ajp.141.9.1034 }}</ref> Meduna is thought to be the father of convulsive therapy.<ref name=Bolwig>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bolwig TG | title = How does electroconvulsive therapy work? Theories on its mechanism | journal = Canadian Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 56 | issue = 1 | pages = 13–18 | date = January 2011 | pmid = 21324238 | doi = 10.1177/070674371105600104 | doi-access = free }}</ref> |
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[[Electricity|Electrical]] current flows between two [[electrode]]s placed on the scalp, usually from temple to temple in the past, though these days ECT is more commonly applied to the non dominant hemisphere of the brain. Placement of both stimulus electrodes on one side of the head ([[#unilateral ECT|"unilateral" ECT]]), over the nondominant (generally right) [[cerebral hemisphere]], results in delivery of the initial electrical stimulation away from the primary learning and memory centers. If unmodified, the resultant seizure is characteristically more severe than a naturally occurring [[epilepsy|epileptic]] seizure. The production of an adequate, generalized seizure using the proper amount of electrical stimulation is required for therapeutic efficacy (Sackheim ''et al'' 1993). |
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Following the seizure, there is a short period of time during which cortical electrical activity in the brain ceases and an EEG reading is flat. After treatment, patients have no memory of the seizure or events immediately preceding it. |
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In 1937, the first international meeting on [[schizophrenia]] and [[convulsive therapy]] was held in Switzerland by the Swiss psychiatrist Max Müller.<ref>Bangen, Hans: ''Geschichte der medikamentösen Therapie der Schizophrenie''. Berlin, 1992, {{ISBN|3927408824}}</ref> The proceedings were published in the ''[[American Journal of Psychiatry]]'' and, within three years, cardiazol convulsive therapy was being used worldwide.<ref name="Fink-history" /> |
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Therapeutic ECT is usually administered as a course of 6 to 12 treatments, administered at a rate of three times per week, on either an inpatient or outpatient basis. Studies have shown that each fit must be separated by a day at least. |
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The ECT procedure was first conducted in 1938 by Italian neuro-psychiatrist [[Ugo Cerletti]]<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Rudorfer MV, Henry ME, Sackheim HA | date = 1997 | chapter = Electroconvulsive therapy | veditors = Tasman A, Lieberman JA | title = Psychiatry | pages = 1535–1556 }}</ref> and rapidly replaced less safe and effective forms of [[Shock therapy (psychiatry)|biological treatments]] in use at the time. Cerletti, who had been using electric shocks to produce seizures in animal experiments, and his assistant [[Lucio Bini]] at Sapienza University of Rome developed the idea of using electricity as a substitute for [[metrazol]] in convulsive therapy and, in 1938, experimented for the first time on a person affected by [[delusion]]s. |
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The exact mechanisms by which ECT exerts its effect are not known, but studies show that repeated applications have effects on several kinds of [[neurotransmitter]]s in the [[central nervous system]]. ECT seems to sensitize two subtypes of [[5-HT receptor|serotonin receptor]] (5-HT receptor), thereby strengthening signaling. ECT also decreases the functioning of [[norepinephrine]] and [[dopamine]] inhibiting auto-receptors in the [[locus coeruleus]] and [[substantia nigra]], respectively, causing more of each to be released (Ishihara & Sasa 1999). |
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It was believed early on that inducing convulsions aided in helping those with severe [[schizophrenia]] but later found to be most useful with [[affective disorder]]s such as [[depression (mood)|depression]]. Cerletti had noted a shock to the head produced convulsions in dogs. The idea to use electroshock on humans came to Cerletti when he saw how pigs were given an electric shock before being butchered to put them in an anesthetized state.<ref name=Sabbatini>{{cite web| vauthors = Sabbatini R |title=The history of shock therapy in psychiatry|url=http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n04/historia/shock_i.htm|access-date=2013-04-24}}</ref> Cerletti and Bini practiced until they felt they had the right parameters needed to have a successful human trial. Once they started trials on patients, they found that after 10–20 treatments the results were significant. Patients had much improved. |
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One study in The Journal of ECT suggests that "long-term ECS increases the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor, TrkB, in limbic brain regions." (Duman RS, Vaidya VA., 1998) |
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A positive side effect to the treatment was [[retrograde amnesia]]. It was because of this side effect that patients could not remember the treatments and had no ill feelings toward it.<ref name="Sabbatini" /> |
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===Types of ECT=== |
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Two basic forms of ECT exist: bilateral and unilateral. The first form can be further subdivided into bitemporal and bifrontal ECT. |
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In bitemporal ECT, the current is passed across the temporal lobes, with an electrode being placed on either side of the head. With unilateral ECT, the electrodes are only placed on the right side of the head, to pass the current primarily through the right temporal lobe. |
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According to several controlled trials, unilateral ECT is associated with virtually no detectable, persistent memory loss (Horne et al., 1985; NIH Consensus Conference, 1985; Rudorfer et al., 1997). However, most clinicians find unilateral ECT less potent and more slowly acting an intervention than conventional bilateral ECT, particularly in the most severe cases of depression or mania. One approach that is sometimes used is to begin a trial of ECT with unilateral electrode placement and switch to bilateral treatment after about six treatments if there has been no response. |
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Research has demonstrated that the relationship of electrical dose to clinical response differs depending on electrode placement; for bilateral ECT, as long as an adequate seizure is obtained, any additional dosage will merely add to the cognitive toxicity, whereas for unilateral electrode placement, a therapeutic effect will not be achieved unless the electrical stimulus is more than minimally above the seizure threshold (Sackeim et al., 1993). |
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Even a moderately high electrical dosage in unilateral ECT still has fewer cognitive adverse effects than bilateral ECT. On the other hand, high-dose bilateral ECT may be unnecessarily risky and may be a preventable cause of severe memory impairment. |
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Bifrontal ECT is a modified form of bitemporal ECT in which the electrodes are placed 2 inches above the lateral angle of each orbit. It has been shown to have fewer adverse effects on memory than bitemporal, and to increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex (Blumenfeld et al 2003). |
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ECT soon replaced metrazol therapy all over the world because it was cheaper, less frightening and more convenient.<ref>Cerletti, U (1956). "Electroshock therapy". In AM Sackler ''et al''. (eds) ''The Great Physiodynamic Therapies in Psychiatry: an historical appraisal.'' New York: Hoeber-Harper, 91–120.</ref> Cerletti and Bini were nominated for a [[Nobel Prize]] but did not receive one. By 1940, the procedure was introduced to both England and the US. In Germany and Austria, it was promoted by [[Friedrich Meggendorfer]]. Through the 1940s and 1950s, the use of ECT became widespread. At the time the ECT device was patented and commercialized abroad, the two Italian inventors had competitive tensions that damaged their relationship.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sirgiovanni E, Aruta A |title=From the Madhouse to the Docu-Museum: The Enigma Surrounding the Cerletti-Bini ECT Apparatus Prototype |journal=Nuncius |date=April 23, 2020 |volume=35 |issue=1 |page=141 |doi=10.1163/18253911-03501013|s2cid=218991982 }}</ref> In the 1960s, despite a climate of condemnation, the original Cerletti-Bini ECT apparatus prototype was contended by scientific museums between Italy and the US.<ref name=":2">Sirgiovanni, E, Aruta, A (2020) "The Electroshock Triangle: Disputes about the ECT Apparatus Prototype and its Display in the 1960s, History of Psychiatry. First Published April 20, 2020: https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X20916147.</ref> The ECT apparatus prototype is now owned and displayed by the Sapienza [[:it:Museo di storia della medicina|Museum of the History of Medicine]] in Rome.<ref name=":2" /> |
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==Side effects and complications== |
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{{TotallyDisputed-section}} |
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===Side-effect profile=== |
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In the early 1940s, in an attempt to reduce the memory disturbance and confusion associated with treatment, two modifications were introduced: the use of unilateral electrode placement and the replacement of [[sinusoidal current]] with brief pulse. It took many years for brief-pulse equipment to be widely adopted.<ref name="Kiloh">Kiloh, LG, Smith, JS, Johnson, GF (1988). ''Physical Treatments in Psychiatry''. Melbourne: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 190–208. {{ISBN|0867931124}}</ref> |
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Much of the risk of electroshock arises from the use of general anesthesia. There is much disagreement over the other risks of electroshock. |
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The most common adverse effects are confusion and retrograde memory loss for events surrounding the period of ECT treatment. Some of the confusion and disorientation seen upon awakening after ECT clear soon after electroshock. |
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More persistent memory problems are variable and difficult to quantify. Some studies have shown that up to one third of patients report significant memory loss after treatment. Most typical with standard, bilateral electrode placement (one electrode on each side of the head) has been a pattern of loss of memories for the time of the ECT series and extending back an average of 6 months, combined with impairment with learning new information, which continues for perhaps 2 months following ECT (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985). There have been no longterm (six months post-ECT or more) studies of cognition, memory ability, and memory loss done in the past two decades, coinciding with the time period when the available NIMH grant money has been monopolized by those with longstanding financial ties to the device manufacturers, especially Sackeim (Sackeim, March 14, 2004; deposition in the case of Akkerman v. Johnson, in which he states both that he has never followed up patients longer than two months and that he has worked as a consultant for the manufacturers since the mid-1980s). However,every longterm study which has been done has confirmed permanent amnesia (for instance, Janis, 1951; Squire, 1983; Weiner, 1986.) Calev, 1994 (not a study) surveyed the literature and concluded that patients must be warned of possible nonmemory cognitive deficits, since "they are not going to function well on more tasks than they anticipate". At least one-third of ECT patients experience permanent memory loss, according to a systematic review in 2003 (Rose, 2003){{ref|rd}}. There is no evidence to support the industry's claim that most patients return to full functioning following successful ECT, and considerable evidence that many patients do not (FDA, Docket #82P-0316; Pedler, 2000; SURE (Service User Research Enterprise, 2002)). Formal neuropsychological testing has documented permanent neuropsychological deficits in former ECT patients (FDA, Docket #82P-0316), including an IQ loss of greater than 30 points (Donahue, 1999; Andre, 2001; Cott, 2004). The degree of impairment and resulting impact on functioning are highly variable across individuals (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985; CMHS, 1998). Electroshock has a number of critics, including scientists, former psychiatric patients, human rights lawyers and civil libertarians, who are opposed to electroshock on the grounds that there is enough evidence, after 60 years, that patients' memories are permanently and severely damaged by the procedure to justify a moratorium (at least until sound and non-financially conflicted research is done into its effects on the brain). |
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In the 1940s and early 1950s, ECT was usually given in an "unmodified" form, without muscle relaxants, and the seizure resulted in a full-scale convulsion. A rare but serious complication of unmodified ECT was fracture or dislocation of the long bones. In the 1940s, psychiatrists began to experiment with [[curare]], the muscle-paralysing South American poison, in order to modify the convulsions. The introduction of [[suxamethonium]] (succinylcholine), a safer synthetic alternative to curare, in 1951 led to the more widespread use of "modified" ECT. A short-acting anesthetic was usually given in addition to the muscle relaxant in order to spare patients the terrifying feeling of suffocation that can be experienced with muscle relaxants.<ref name="Kiloh"/> |
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Dozens of human and animal studies confirm that ECT is associated with a plethora of brain abnormalities (Ebaugh et al, 1942; Gralnick, 1944; Jetter, 1944; Meyer et al, 1945; Sprague and Taylor, 1948; Will and Rehfeldt, 1948; Martin, 1949; Riese and Fultz, 1949; Liban et al, 1951; Corselis and Meyer, 1954; Madow, 1956; Faurbye, 1942; Maclay, 1953; Matthew and Constan, 1964; Barker and Barker 1959; Alpers,1942; Bjerner, 1944; Hartelius, 1957; Ferraro et al, 1946; Ferraro et al, 1949; Heilbrun, 1941; Heilbrunn, 1942, 1943; Neuberger, 1942; Lidbeck, 1944; McKegney and Panzetta, 1963, etc.) ECT proponents such as Sackeim (in a 1994 review article) and Weiner (who wrote his in 1984) ---both of whom work for shock machine company Mecta (see Sackeim's 2004 deposition, Weiner's deposition and testimony in the same case, the testimony of Mecta owners and employees, and the credits given to each in the Mecta manuals) ---dismiss the work done in the 1940s and 1950s, alleging that today's ECT is different. But the differences only make the procedure more brain-toxic, not less. Anesthesia and muscle-paralyzing drugs increase the risks of the procedure and thus its mortality rate (Baker and Baker 1959; Novello, 1974; Impastato, 1957). The industry's claims that oxygenation prevents against brain damage and thus makes the results of some earlier studies irrelevant is specious, because even its most vocal spokesman (Sackeim again, 2004) does not agree with this and does not always oxygenate his own patients: "They don't turn blue". Therefore, some of the earlier studies in which animals are not oxygenated are far from outdated. Also, in the 1940s and 1950s, ECT devices were far less powerful than those in use today (Cameron, 1994), so once again, today's machines would be even more likely to cause brain damage than those shown to do so in the early studies. |
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The steady growth of [[antidepressant]] use along with negative depictions of ECT in the mass media led to a marked decline in the use of ECT during the 1950s to the 1970s. The [[Surgeon General of the United States|Surgeon General]] stated there were problems with electroshock therapy in the initial years before [[anesthesia]] was routinely given, and that "these now-antiquated practices contributed to the negative portrayal of ECT in the popular media."<ref name="erica goode"> |
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Breggin's work includes a useful summary of the animal and human brain studies to 1979 [[Peter Breggin]][http://www.breggin.com/Electroshockscientific.pdf]. |
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{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9805E1DD1431F935A35753C1A96F958260 |title=Federal Report Praising Electroshock Stirs Uproar | vauthors = Goode E |date=1999-10-06 |access-date=2008-01-01 |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' described the public's negative perception of ECT as being caused mainly by one movie: "For Big Nurse in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]],'' it was a tool of terror, and, in the public mind, ''shock therapy'' has retained the tarnished image given it by [[Ken Kesey]]'s novel: dangerous, inhumane and overused".<ref name="Goleman 1990">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0D81F3EF931A3575BC0A966958260|title=The Quiet Comeback of Electroshock Therapy| vauthors = Goleman D |date=1990-08-02|work=The New York Times|page=B5|access-date=2008-01-01}}</ref> |
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In 1976, Dr. Blatchley demonstrated the effectiveness of his constant current, brief pulse device ECT. This device eventually largely replaced earlier devices because of the reduction in cognitive side effects, although as of 2012 some ECT clinics still were using sine-wave devices.<ref name="LeiknesWWrev2012">{{cite journal | vauthors = Leiknes KA, Jarosh-von Schweder L, Høie B | title = Contemporary use and practice of electroconvulsive therapy worldwide | journal = Brain and Behavior | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 283–344 | date = May 2012 | pmid = 22741102 | pmc = 3381633 | doi = 10.1002/brb3.37 | doi-access = free }}</ref> |
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More recent work confirming brain atrophy, lesions, and other abnormalities associated with so-called modern ECT includes Templer and Veleber, 1982; Colon and Notermans, 1975; Weinberger et al,1979; Calloway et al, 1981; Templer et al, 1973; Shah et al, 2002; Diehl et al, 1994; Marcheselli et al, 1996; Andreasen et al, 1990; Dolan et al, 1986; and Figiel et al, 1990. |
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The 1970s saw the publication of the first [[American Psychiatric Association]] (APA) task force report on electroconvulsive therapy (to be followed by further reports in 1990 and 2001). The report endorsed the use of ECT in the treatment of depression. The decade also saw criticism of ECT.<ref>See: |
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The decision to use ECT must be evaluated by each individual, weighing the potential benefits and known risks of all available and appropriate treatments in the context of [[informed consent]] (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985), free of coercion and veiled threats (i.e., "If you do not sign the form you will not ever be released.") Studies published in 2004 and 2005 showed that half of ECT patients did not feel they could refuse the treatment (Philpot, 2004; Rose, 2005). |
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* {{cite journal | vauthors = Friedberg J | title = Shock treatment, brain damage, and memory loss: a neurological perspective | journal = The American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 134 | issue = 9 | pages = 1010–1014 | date = September 1977 | pmid = 900284 | doi = 10.1176/ajp.134.9.1010 | publisher = American Psychiatric Association Publishing }} |
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* {{cite book | vauthors = Breggin PR | title=Electroshock: its brain-disabling effects | publisher=Springer | publication-place=New York | date=1979 | isbn=082612710X | oclc=5029460}}</ref> Specifically, critics pointed to shortcomings such as noted side effects, the procedure being used as a form of abuse, and uneven application of ECT. The use of ECT declined until the 1980s, "when use began to increase amid growing awareness of its benefits and cost-effectiveness for treating severe depression".<ref name="erica goode"/> In 1985, the [[National Institute of Mental Health]] and [[National Institutes of Health]] convened a consensus development conference on ECT and concluded that, while ECT was the most controversial treatment in psychiatry and had significant side-effects, it had been shown to be effective for a narrow range of severe psychiatric disorders.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Blaine JD, Clark SM | title = Report of the NIMH-NIH Consensus Development Conference on electroconvulsive therapy--statement of the Consensus Development Panel--statement of the Consensus Development Panel | journal = Psychopharmacology Bulletin | volume = 22 | issue = 2 | pages = 445–454 | year = 1986 | pmid = 3774937 }}</ref> |
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Because of the backlash noted previously, national institutions reviewed past practices and set new standards. In 1978, the American Psychiatric Association released its first task force report in which new standards for [[consent]] were introduced and the use of unilateral electrode placement was recommended. The 1985 NIMH Consensus Conference confirmed the therapeutic role of ECT in certain circumstances. The American Psychiatric Association released its second task force report in 1990 where specific details on the delivery, education, and training of ECT were documented. Finally, in 2001 the American Psychiatric Association released its latest task force report.<ref name="APA2001guideline"/> This report emphasizes the importance of [[informed consent]], and the expanded role that the procedure has in modern medicine. By 2017, ECT was routinely covered by insurance companies for providing the "biggest bang for the buck" for otherwise intractable cases of severe [[mental illness]], was receiving favorable media coverage, and was being provided in regional medical centers.<ref name="ECT Provided in Boise">{{Cite web |url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article133259549.html |title=This mental health treatment isn't barbaric, it 'totally changed my life' | vauthors = Dutton A |date=2017-02-18}}</ref> |
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The muscle relaxants used during ECT can produce generalised but mild aches in the muscles after waking. |
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Though ECT use declined with the advent of modern antidepressants, there has been a resurgence of ECT with new modern technologies and techniques.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/64868/bipolar-disorder/electroconvulsive-therapy-how-modern-techniques-improve | title=Electroconvulsive therapy: How modern techniques improve patient outcomes}}</ref> Modern shock voltage is given for a shorter duration of 0.5 milliseconds where conventional brief pulse is 1.5 milliseconds.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.5348/ijcri-2012-07-147-CR-8 | volume=3 | issue = 7 | title=A case of schizophrenia successfully treated by m-ECT using 'long' brief pulse | year=2012 | journal=International Journal of Case Reports and Images | page=30 |vauthors=Hiroaki I, Hirohiko H, Masanari I |doi-access=free | arxiv=1112.2072 }}</ref> |
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===Contraindications=== |
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Some psychiatric researchers contend that there are virtually no absolute health contraindications precluding the use of ECT where warranted (Potter & Rudorfer, 1993; Rudorfer et al., 1997), i.e. where the treating psychiatrist, often at his sole discretion but frequently in consultation with a multidisciplinary team, decides that the benefits outweigh the risks of the procedure. |
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In a review from 2022 of [[neuroimaging]] studies based on a global data collaboration ECT was suggested to work via a temporary disruption of neural circuits followed by augmented [[neuroplasticity]] and rewiring.<ref name="Ousdal_2022">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ousdal OT, Brancati GE, Kessler U, Erchinger V, Dale AM, Abbott C, Oltedal L | title = The Neurobiological Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy Studied Through Magnetic Resonance: What Have We Learned, and Where Do We Go? | journal = Biological Psychiatry | volume = 91 | issue = 6 | pages = 540–549 | date = March 2022 | pmid = 34274106 | pmc = 8630079 | doi = 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.05.023 }}</ref> |
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===Use in combination with medications=== |
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Some types of medication, such as [[lithium salt|lithium]], can add to confusion and cognitive impairment when given during a course of ECT and are best avoided. Medications that raise the seizure threshold and make it harder to obtain a therapeutic effect from ECT, including [[anticonvulsant]]s and some minor [[tranquilizer]]s, may also need to be tapered or discontinued. |
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== |
== Modern use == |
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ECT is used, where possible, with [[informed consent]]<ref name =Beloucif>{{cite journal | vauthors = Beloucif S | title = Informed consent for special procedures: electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery | journal = Current Opinion in Anesthesiology| volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 182–185 | date = April 2013 | pmid = 23385317 | doi = 10.1097/ACO.0b013e32835e7380 | s2cid = 36643014 }}</ref> in treatment-resistant [[major depressive disorder]], [[bipolar depression]], treatment-resistant [[catatonia]], prolonged or severe [[mania]], and in conditions where "there is a need for rapid, definitive response because of the severity of a psychiatric or medical condition (e.g., when illness is characterized by [[suicidality]], [[psychosis]], [[stupor]], marked [[psychomotor retardation]], depressive [[delusion]]s or [[hallucination]]s, or life-threatening physical exhaustion associated with mania)."<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref name="who.int">World Health Organisation (2005). [https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/resource_book_MHLeg.pdf ''WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206001212/http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/resource_book_MHLeg.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050624010538/http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/resource_book_MHLeg.pdf |archive-date=2005-06-24 |url-status=live |date=2006-12-06 }}. Geneva, 64.</ref><ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> It has also been used to treat [[autism]] in adults with an intellectual disability, yet findings from a systematic review found this an unestablished intervention.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Benevides TW, Shore SM, Andresen ML, Caplan R, Cook B, Gassner DL, Erves JM, Hazlewood TM, King MC, Morgan L, Murphy LE, Purkis Y, Rankowski B, Rutledge SM, Welch SP, Wittig K | title = Interventions to address health outcomes among autistic adults: A systematic review | journal = Autism | volume = 24 | issue = 6 | pages = 1345–1359 | date = August 2020 | pmid = 32390461 | pmc = 7787674 | doi = 10.1177/1362361320913664 | s2cid = 218586379 | doi-access = free }}</ref> |
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The United States Food and Drug Administration has classified the devices used to administer ECT as Class III [[medical devices]] (Federal Register, 1979). Class III is the highest-risk class of medical devices.The FDA regulates devices based on their risk to benefit ratio. Class III devices pose a potential unreasonable risk of injury or illness when used as directed by the manufacturer. A Class III device such as the ECT machine is one in which benefits have not been shown to outweigh risks. The risks of ECT, according to the FDA, include brain damage and memory loss. (Federal Register, 1978). |
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===Major depressive disorder=== |
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==Effectiveness== |
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For [[major depressive disorder]], despite a Canadian guideline and some experts arguing for using ECT as a first line treatment,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lipsman N, Sankar T, Downar J, Kennedy SH, Lozano AM, Giacobbe P | title = Neuromodulation for treatment-refractory major depressive disorder | journal = CMAJ | volume = 186 | issue = 1 | pages = 33–39 | date = January 2014 | pmid = 23897945 | pmc = 3883821 | doi = 10.1503/cmaj.121317 }}</ref><ref name="Psychiatry p.">{{cite book | veditors = Tasman A, Kay J, Lieberman JA, First MB, Riba MB | title=Psychiatry | publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd | publication-place=Chichester, UK | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-118-75337-8 | doi=10.1002/9781118753378 | page=}}</ref><ref name="Bolwig 2005 p=51">{{cite journal | vauthors = Bolwig TG | title = First-line use of ECT | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 51 | date = March 2005 | pmid = 15791182 | doi = 10.1097/01.yct.0000158271.45828.76 | publisher = Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) }}</ref> ECT is generally used only when one or other treatments have failed, or in emergencies, such as imminent suicide.<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fitzgerald PB | title = Non-pharmacological biological treatment approaches to difficult-to-treat depression | journal = The Medical Journal of Australia | volume = 199 | issue = S6 | pages = S48–S51 | date = September 2013 | pmid = 25370288 | doi = 10.5694/mja12.10509 | s2cid = 204073048 }}</ref><ref name=NICE2009>{{cite web |url=https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg90 |title=Depression in adults: The treatment and management of depression in adults. NICE guidelines CG90 |publisher=[[National Institute for Clinical Excellence]] |year=2009}}</ref> ECT has also been used in selected cases of depression occurring in the setting of [[multiple sclerosis]], [[Parkinson's disease]], [[Huntington's chorea]], [[Intellectual disability|developmental delay]], brain [[arteriovenous malformations]], and [[hydrocephalus]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bradley's Neurology in Clinical Practice: Expert Consult|year=2012|publisher=Elsevier/Saunders|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-4377-0434-1|vauthors=Murray ED, Buttner N, Price BH |volume=1|edition=6th|pages=114–115|veditors=Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J |chapter=Depression and Psychosis in Neurological Practice}}</ref> |
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Some studies — later confirmed in controlled clinical trials which included the use of simulated or "[[placebo|sham]]" ECT as a control (Janicak et al., 1985), have determined ECT to be highly effective against severe depression, some acute [[psychotic]] states, and [[mania]] (Small et al., 1988). |
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No controlled study has shown any other treatment to have superior efficacy to ECT in the treatment of depression (Janicak et al., 1985; Rudorfer et al., 1997). ECT has not been demonstrated to be effective in [[dysthymia]], [[substance abuse]], [[anxiety]], or [[personality disorder]]s. The foregoing conclusions, and many of those discussed below, are the products of review of extensive research conducted over several decades (Depression Guideline Panel, 1993; Rudorfer et al., 1997) as well as by a panel of scientists, practitioners, and consumers (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985). |
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Although the average 60 to 70 percent response rate seen with ECT is comparable to that obtained with pharmacotherapy, there is evidence that the antidepressant effect of ECT occurs faster than that seen with medication, which supports the use of ECT in cases where depression is accompanied by potentially uncontrollable suicidal ideas and actions (Rudorfer et al., 1997). However, ECT does not exert a long-term protection against suicide. Indeed, it is now recognized that a single course of ECT should be regarded as a short-term treatment for an acute episode of illness. To sustain the response to ECT, continuation treatment, often in the form of antidepressant and/or [[mood stabilizer]] medication, must be instituted (Sackeim, 1994). "Maintenance ECT" as it is called, refers to indefinite periods of recurring electroshock treatments, usually scheduled a few weeks apart. Critics of electroshock assert that the reason maintenance electroshock is required is because the brain requires approximately four weeks to recover from each closed head injury caused by eletroshock treatment. Thus, when the brain has healed, the temporary euphoric effects are lost and the brain must be electroshocked again and again to attain the previous mood level gain. |
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Individuals who repeatedly [[relapse]] following ECT despite continuation medication may be candidates for maintenance ECT, delivered on an outpatient basis at a rate of one treatment weekly to as infrequently as monthly (Sackeim, 1994; Rudorfer et al., 1997). |
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====Efficacy==== |
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==Informed consent== |
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A [[meta-analysis]] on the effectiveness of ECT in unipolar and bipolar depression indicated that although patients with [[unipolar depression]] and [[bipolar depression]] responded to other medical treatments very differently, both groups responded equally well to ECT. Overall [[Remission (medicine)|remission]] rate for patients given a round of ECT treatment was 50.9% for those with unipolar depression and 53.2% for those with bipolar depression. Most severely depressed patients respond to ECT.<ref name="Dierckx Heijnen van den Broek Birkenhäger 2012 pp. 146–150">{{cite journal | vauthors = Dierckx B, Heijnen WT, van den Broek WW, Birkenhäger TK | title = Efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy in bipolar versus unipolar major depression: a meta-analysis | journal = Bipolar Disorders | volume = 14 | issue = 2 | pages = 146–150 | date = March 2012 | pmid = 22420590 | doi = 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.00997.x | publisher = Wiley | s2cid = 44280002 }}</ref> |
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[[Informed consent]] is an integral part of the ECT process (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985). The potential benefits and risks of this treatment, and of available alternative interventions, should be carefully reviewed and discussed with patients and, where appropriate, family or friends. Prospective candidates for ECT should be informed, for example, that its benefits are short-lived without active continuation treatment, and that there may be some risk of permanent severe memory loss after ECT. Anti-electroshock activists report that patients are rarely, if ever, told the complete truth about the relative risks and benefits of electroshock{{ref|rd2}}. To this end, and to demonstrate what would be required to fully satisfy the legal obligation for 'informed consent', one psychiatrist has formulated his own 'consent form'{{ref|bj}} using the Texas Legislature{{ref|tl}} as a model. |
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In 2004, a meta-analysis found in terms of efficacy, "a significant superiority of ECT in all comparisons: ECT versus simulated ECT, ECT versus [[placebo]], ECT versus antidepressants in general, ECT versus tricyclics and ECT versus [[monoamine oxidase inhibitor]]s."<ref name="pmid15087991">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pagnin D, de Queiroz V, Pini S, Cassano GB | title = Efficacy of ECT in depression: a meta-analytic review | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | pages = 13–20 | date = March 2004 | pmid = 15087991 | doi = 10.1097/00124509-200403000-00004 | s2cid = 25843283 }}</ref> |
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In most cases of depression, the benefit-to-risk ratio will favor the use of medication and/or psychotherapy as the preferred course of action (Depression Guideline Panel, 1993). In cases where medication has not succeeded or is fraught with unusual risk, or else where the potential benefits of ECT are great, such as in delusional depression, the balance of potential benefits to risks may tilt in favor of ECT. |
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Active discussion with the treatment team, supplemented by the growing amount of printed and videotaped information for consumers, is thought by some to be advisable (though not always adhered to{{fact}}) in the decision-making process, both prior to and throughout a course of ECT. However, since this material is often commissioned for, and provided by, the manufactures of the equipment used to deliver the treatment, the possibility of this information leaning towards [[confirmation bias]] can not be ruled out. Theoretically, in most jurisdictions, consent may be revoked at any time during a series of ECT sessions. |
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In 2003, The UK ECT Review Group published a [[systematic review]] and meta-analysis comparing ECT to [[placebo]] and antidepressant drugs. This meta-analysis demonstrated a large effect size (high efficacy relative to the mean in terms of the [[standard deviation]]) for ECT versus placebo, and versus antidepressant drugs.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = ((UK ECT Review Group)) | title = Efficacy and safety of electroconvulsive therapy in depressive disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Lancet | volume = 361 | issue = 9360 | pages = 799–808 | date = March 2003 | pmid = 12642045 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12705-5 | s2cid = 28964580 }}</ref> |
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==Involuntary ECT== |
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Procedures for involuntary ECT vary from country to country depending on local [[mental health law]]s. Legal proceedings are required in some countries whilst in others ECT is seen as another form of treatment that may be given involuntarily as long as legal conditions are observed. |
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In the United States, involuntary ECT may not be initiated by a physician or family member without a judicial proceeding. In every state, the administration of ECT on an involuntary basis requires such a judicial proceeding at which patients may be represented by legal counsel. As a rule, such petitions are granted only where the prompt institution of ECT is regarded as potentially lifesaving, as in the case of a person who is in grave danger because of lack of food or fluid intake caused by [[catatonia]]. |
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Australian states take the other approach and the law regards involuntary treatment with ECT in the same light as any other involuntary treatment. There is an appeal process available for patients and relatives. This position facilitates the expedited use of ECT in emergencies. |
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Compared with [[repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation]] (rTMS) for people with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, ECT relieves depression as shown by reducing the score on the [[Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression]] by about 15 points, while rTMS reduced it by 9 points.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Micallef-Trigona B | title = Comparing the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Depression Research and Treatment | volume = 2014 | pages = 135049 | year = 2014 | pmid = 25143831 | pmc = 4131106 | doi = 10.1155/2014/135049 | doi-access = free }}</ref> |
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In England and Wales, in the United Kingdom, the [[Mental Health Act 1983]] allows the use of two electroconvulsive therapies in a life-threatening situation, at the discretion of the treating [[psychiatrist]]. This is most commonly invoked in the case of a patient who has stopped drinking fluids whilst suffering from a severe [[clinical depression|depressive illness]]. Further ECT, or involuntary ECT in less urgent circumstances, must be authorised by an independent psychiatrist, who, if in agreement, will usually give consent for a total of twelve ECT. |
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Other estimates regarding the response rate in treatment resistant depression vary between 60–80%, with a remission rate of 50–60%.<ref name="Espinoza 2022">{{cite journal |last1=Espinoza |first1=Randall T. |last2=Kellner |first2=Charles H. |title=Electroconvulsive Therapy |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=17 February 2022 |volume=386 |issue=7 |pages=667–672 |doi=10.1056/NEJMra2034954|pmid=35172057 }}</ref> In addition to reducing symptoms of depression and inducing relapse, ECT has also been shown to reduce the risk of suicide, improve functional outcomes and quality of life as well as reduce the risk of re-hospitalization.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> Efficacy does not depend on depression subtype.<ref name="Psychiatry p."/> With regards to treatment resistant schizophrenia, the response rate is 40–70%.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> |
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==Continuation phase therapy== |
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Successful acute phase antidepressant pharmacotherapy or ECT should almost always be followed by at least 6 months of continued treatment (Prien & Kupfer, 1986; Depression Guideline Panel, 1993; Rudorfer et al., 1997). During this phase, known as the continuation phase, most patients are seen biweekly or monthly. |
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The primary goal of continuation pharmacotherapy is to prevent [[relapse]] (i.e., an exacerbation of symptoms sufficient to meet syndromal criteria). Continuation pharmacotherapy reduces the risk of relapse from 40-60 percent to 10-20 percent (Prien & Kupfer, 1986; Thase, 1993). Relapse despite continuation pharmacotherapy might suggest either nonadherence (Myers & Branthwaithe, 1992) or loss of a placebo response (Quitkin et al., 1993a). |
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A second goal of continuation pharmacotherapy is consolidation of a response into a complete remission and subsequent recovery (i.e., 6 months of sustained remission). A remission is defined as a complete resolution of affective symptoms to a level similar to healthy people (Frank et al., 1991a). As residual symptoms are associated with increased relapse risk (Keller et al., 1992; Thase et al., 1992), recovery should be achieved before withdrawing antidepressant pharmacotherapy. |
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Many psychotherapists similarly taper a successful course of treatment by scheduling several sessions (every other week or monthly) prior to termination. There is some evidence, albeit weak, that relapse is less common following successful treatment with one type of psychotherapy—[[Cognitive therapy|cognitive-behavioral therapy]]—than with antidepressants (Kovacs et al., 1981; Blackburn et al., 1986; Simons et al., 1986; Evans et al., 1992). If confirmed, this advantage may offset the greater short-term costs of psychotherapy. |
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====Follow-up==== |
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==Historical usage== |
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There is little agreement on the most appropriate follow-up to ECT for people with major depressive disorder.<ref name="Jelovac2013Rev">{{cite journal | vauthors = Jelovac A, Kolshus E, McLoughlin DM | title = Relapse following successful electroconvulsive therapy for major depression: a meta-analysis | journal = Neuropsychopharmacology | volume = 38 | issue = 12 | pages = 2467–2474 | date = November 2013 | pmid = 23774532 | pmc = 3799066 | doi = 10.1038/npp.2013.149 }}</ref> The initial course of ECT is then transitioned to maintenance ECT, pharmacotherapy or both. When ECT is stopped abruptly, without a bridge to maintenance ECT or medications (usually antidepressants and [[Lithium (medication)|Lithium]]), it is associated with a relapse rate of 84%.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> There is no defined schedule for maintenance ECT, however it is usually started weekly with intervals extended permissibly with the goal of maintaining remission.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> When ECT is followed by treatment with [[antidepressants]], about 50% of people relapsed by 12 months following successful initial treatment with ECT, with about 37% relapsing within the first 6 months. About twice as many relapsed with no antidepressants. Most of the evidence for continuation therapy is with [[tricyclic antidepressants]]; evidence for relapse prevention with newer antidepressants is lacking.<ref name=Jelovac2013Rev/> Adjunct maintenance ECT paired with [[cognitive behavioral therapy]] has also been shown to reduce relapse rates.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> Maintenance ECT may safely continue indefinitely, with no set maximum treatment interval established.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> |
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ECT was developed in the [[1930s]] by [[Italy|Italian]] [[neurologist]] [[Ugo Cerletti]]. Cerletti saw [[electric shock]]s given to hogs before [[slaughter]]. This rendered them unconscious but did not [[kill]] them. Cerletti found such electric shocks caused his obsessive and difficult mental patients to become meek and manageable. |
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When ECT was first instituted, the procedure was performed on fully conscious patients, without the use of anesthesia or muscle relaxants. The patient lost consciousness during the application of the current, and experienced powerful and violently uncontrolled muscle movement. Patients would often break bones, especially [[vertebra]]e, and pull muscles from the violent convulsions induced by the seizure. Patients grew to dread the procedure, and it was commonly employed as a means of punishment and sedation for difficult patients in [[psychiatric hospital]]s. |
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With the development of effective medications for the treatment of major mental disorders a half-century ago, the need for ECT lessened, but did not disappear. Prior to that time, ECT often had been administered for a variety of conditions for which it is now generally regarded as ineffective, for example, the treatment of [[schizophrenia]]. |
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Advances in treatment technique over the past generation have enabled a reduction of adverse cognitive effects of ECT (NIH & NIMH Consensus Conference, 1985; Rudorfer et al., 1997). Nearly all ECT devices deliver a lower current, brief-pulse electrical stimulation, rather than the original [[sine wave]] output; with a brief pulse electrical wave, a therapeutic seizure may be induced with as little as one-third the electrical power as with the older method, thereby reducing the potential for confusion and memory disturbance (Andrade et al., 1998). Ultra-brief pulse, higher frequency and longer stimulus duration also contribute to ECT effectiveness while minimizing the adverse cognitive effects. |
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[[Lithium (medication)|Lithium]] has also been found to reduce the risk of relapse, especially in younger patients.<ref name="Lambrichts Detraux Vansteelandt Nordenskjöld 2021 pp. 294–306">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lambrichts S, Detraux J, Vansteelandt K, Nordenskjöld A, Obbels J, Schrijvers D, Sienaert P | title = Does lithium prevent relapse following successful electroconvulsive therapy for major depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica | volume = 143 | issue = 4 | pages = 294–306 | date = April 2021 | pmid = 33506961 | doi = 10.1111/acps.13277 | s2cid = 231759831 | hdl = 10067/1751810151162165141 | url = https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/669413 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> |
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==Controversy== |
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In general, but with a small number of exceptions, there is some degree of [[consensus]] within the field of psychiatry as to the benefits of ECT. However, ECT remains a topic that can generate much debate in both the field of [[psychology]] and among the general public. While its effectiveness has been demonstrated by numerous controlled trials, a large number of people within and outside the field regard it as inhumane and primitive — even barbaric. Opponents claim that the mechanism through which electroshock creates changes in mental state is nothing more than the destruction of brain cells, and even proponents are not quite sure how it works. Many patients who have undergone ECT claim it caused their subsequent mental state to improve; many others think their ECT treatments did more harm than good, and some actively campaign to have the treatment legally banned. |
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[[Antipsychiatry]] believes that, for the most part, there are no real [[mental illness]]es and that ECT is used to suppress certain behaviors which, although perhaps uncommon, are still within the normal range. (See: [http://www.sidran.org/anna.html Retraumatizing the victim], [[Alan Turing]], [[Rosemary Kennedy]] for an example). |
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Some question the effects of drugs on the ability to give [[informed consent]]. |
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The old method of performing ECT, without muscle relaxants or drugs to induce sleep, is mostly what is responsible for the unfavorable reputation given to ECT. A great deal of anti-ECT sentiment was generated by its unfavorable depiction in the [[1975]] movie ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', based on a novel by [[Ken Kesey]], which in turn was based loosely on the author's own experiences in various mental hospitals during the [[1960s]]. In the film [[Girl, Interrupted]] Angelina Jolie's character runs away from a mental hospital because they are giving her what she calls "shocks." Other negative depictions, such as in the books ''[[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]]'' and ''[[The Bell Jar]]'', as well as the movie ''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'', have also furthered this negative stereotype. |
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===Catatonia=== |
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The Canadian film "The Sleep Room" (a movie based on [[MK Ultra]] and [[Ewan Cameron]]) and an episode of [[NBC]] drama [[Law And Order]] entitled "Cruel And Unusual" also featured negative depictions of ECT; however, in both cases the ECT being portrayed used higher voltage than is considered therapeutically safe. |
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ECT is generally a second-line treatment for people with [[catatonia]] who do not respond to other treatments, but is a first-line treatment for severe or life-threatening catatonia.<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref name=catatoniaRev>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sienaert P, Dhossche DM, Vancampfort D, De Hert M, Gazdag G | title = A clinical review of the treatment of catatonia | journal = Frontiers in Psychiatry | volume = 5 | pages = 181 | date = Dec 2014 | pmid = 25538636 | pmc = 4260674 | doi = 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00181 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Leroy A, Naudet F, Vaiva G, Francis A, Thomas P, Amad A | title = Is electroconvulsive therapy an evidence-based treatment for catatonia? A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience | volume = 268 | issue = 7 | pages = 675–687 | date = October 2018 | pmid = 28639007 | doi = 10.1007/s00406-017-0819-5 | s2cid = 4013882 }}</ref> There is a plethora of evidence for its efficacy, notwithstanding a lack of randomised controlled trials, such that "the excellent efficacy of ECT in catatonia is generally acknowledged".<ref name=catatoniaRev/> For people with [[Autism Spectrum Disorders|autism spectrum disorders]] who have catatonia, there is little published evidence about the efficacy of ECT.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = DeJong H, Bunton P, Hare DJ | title = A systematic review of interventions used to treat catatonic symptoms in people with autistic spectrum disorders | journal = Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | volume = 44 | issue = 9 | pages = 2127–2136 | date = September 2014 | pmid = 24643578 | doi = 10.1007/s10803-014-2085-y | s2cid = 22002956 }}</ref> |
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The use of ECT has been banned in the [[Republic of Slovenia]]. |
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[[Ernest Hemingway]], who underwent 20 ECT treatments, is known to have stated "Well, what is the sense of ruining my head and erasing my memory, which is my capital, and putting me out of business? It was a brilliant cure but we lost the patient...." He committed suicide shortly afterwards. |
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The [[U2]] song "Electric Co." (track#10 on ''[[Boy (album)|Boy]]'') is an anti-electroconvulsive therapy anthem. It is about the widespread use of electroconvulsive therapy in [[Ireland|Ireland's]] state hospitals in the [[1970s]]. They wrote it in response to one of their close friends being subjected to this in a state hospital. |
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===Mania=== |
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==Research into treatments== |
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ECT is used to treat people who have severe or prolonged [[mania]];<ref name=FDA2011rev/> [[NICE]] recommends it only in life-threatening situations or when other treatments have failed<ref name=NICEtech2003>NICE [https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta59 Guidance on the use of electroconvulsive therapy. NICE technology appraisals TA59]. Published date: April 2003</ref> and as a second-line treatment for [[bipolar disorder|bipolar mania]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kanba S, Kato T, Terao T, Yamada K | title = Guideline for treatment of bipolar disorder by the Japanese Society of Mood Disorders, 2012 | journal = Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences | volume = 67 | issue = 5 | pages = 285–300 | date = July 2013 | pmid = 23773266 | doi = 10.1111/pcn.12060 | s2cid = 2058163 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Malhi GS, Tanious M, Berk M | title = Mania: diagnosis and treatment recommendations | journal = Current Psychiatry Reports | volume = 14 | issue = 6 | pages = 676–686 | date = December 2012 | pmid = 22986995 | doi = 10.1007/s11920-012-0324-5 | s2cid = 37771648 }}</ref> |
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There is current research in using [[Magnetic stimulation therapy]] (MST) as an alternative to ECT although presently it seems to be somewhat less effective. Dietary [[omega-3 fatty acids]] and [[sleep deprivation]] are also being researched. [[Vagus nerve stimulation]] therapy is another alternative to ECT. |
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===Schizophrenia=== |
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==Famous people who have undergone ECT== |
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ECT is widely used worldwide in the treatment of [[schizophrenia]], but in North America and Western Europe it is invariably used only in [[treatment resistant schizophrenia]] when symptoms show little response to [[antipsychotic]]s; there is comprehensive research evidence for such practice.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tharyan P, Adams CE | title = Electroconvulsive therapy for schizophrenia | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 2 | pages = CD000076 | date = April 2005 | pmid = 15846598 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD000076.pub2 | veditors = Tharyan P }}</ref> It is useful in the case of severe exacerbations of [[catatonic schizophrenia]], whether excited or stuporous.<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref name=NICEtech2003/> There are also case reports of ECT improving persistent psychotic symptoms associated with [[Stimulant psychosis|stimulant-induced psychosis]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Penders TM, Gestring RE, Vilensky DA | title = Intoxication delirium following use of synthetic cathinone derivatives | journal = The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse | volume = 38 | issue = 6 | pages = 616–617 | date = November 2012 | pmid = 22783894 | doi = 10.3109/00952990.2012.694535 | s2cid = 207428569 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Penders TM, Lang MC, Pagano JJ, Gooding ZS | title = Electroconvulsive therapy improves persistent psychosis after repeated use of methylenedioxypyrovalerone ("bath salts") | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 29 | issue = 4 | pages = e59–e60 | date = December 2013 | pmid = 23609518 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e3182887bc2 | s2cid = 45842375 }}</ref> |
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* [[Louis Althusser]], French philospher |
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* [[Antonin Artaud]], French playwriter |
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* [[Frances Farmer]], American cinema actress |
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* [[Ernest Hemingway]] (committed suicide shortly after ECT treatment) |
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* [[Pat Ingoldsby]], Irish poet |
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* [[Robert Pirsig]] -- his experiences, somewhat fictionalized, are mentioned in his ''[[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values]]'' |
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* [[Sylvia Plath]], American poet |
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* [[Dory Previn]], American poet, writer and lyricist |
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* [[Cole Porter]], American composer and musician |
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* [[Robert Lowell]], American poet and writer |
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* [[Paul Robeson]], American actor |
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* [[Lou Reed]], rock musician |
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* [[Vivien Leigh]], British actress |
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* [[Clara Bow]], American actress |
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* [[Gene Tierney]], American actor |
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* [[Vladimir Horowitz]], pianist |
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* [[Oscar Levant]], pianist |
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* [[Dick Cavett]], TV host |
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* [[Thomas Eagleton]], American politician |
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* [[Richard Brautigan]], American writer and poet |
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==Effects and adverse effects== |
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==Source== |
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Aside from effects in the brain, the general physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief [[general anesthesia]]; the [[Surgeon General of the United States|US Surgeon General]]'s report says that there are "no absolute health [[contraindications]]" to its use.<ref name="SG"/>{{rp|259}} Immediately following treatment, the most common adverse effects are confusion and memory loss. Some patients experience [[Myalgia|muscle soreness]] after ECT. Other common adverse effects after ECT include headache, jaw soreness, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. These side effects are transient and respond to treatment.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> There is evidence and rationale to support giving low doses of [[benzodiazepine]]s or otherwise low doses of [[general anesthetic]]s, which induce [[sedation]] but not [[anesthesia]], to patients to reduce adverse effects of ECT.<ref name="pmid22531198">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gallegos J, Vaidya P, D'Agati D, Jayaram G, Nguyen T, Tripathi A, Trivedi JK, Reti IM | title = Decreasing adverse outcomes of unmodified electroconvulsive therapy: suggestions and possibilities | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | pages = 77–81 | date = June 2012 | pmid = 22531198 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e3182359314 | s2cid = 6423840 }}</ref> |
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* Sections of this article were copied word for word from a public domain document ''Mental Health: a report of the Surgeon General'', online at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec3_1.html#treatment |
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While there are no absolute contraindications for ECT, there is increased risk for patients who have unstable or severe cardiovascular conditions or [[aneurysms]]; who have recently had a [[stroke]]; who have increased [[intracranial pressure]] (for instance, due to a solid [[brain tumor]]), or who have severe pulmonary conditions, or who are generally at high risk for receiving anesthesia.<ref name="APA2001guideline"/>{{rp|30}} |
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The objectivity and scientific integrity of this Surgeon General's Report have been widely criticized: see for instance http://www.ctvip.org/surgeongeneral.html |
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In adolescents, ECT is highly efficient for several psychiatric disorders, with few and relatively benign adverse effects.<ref>Neera Ghaziuddin, Garry Walter (eds.): ''Electroconvulsive Therapy in Children and Adolescents'', Oxford University Press, 2013, {{ISBN|978-0199937899}}, pp. 161–280.</ref><ref name="LimaNascimento2013">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lima NN, Nascimento VB, Peixoto JA, Moreira MM, Neto ML, Almeida JC, Vasconcelos CA, Teixeira SA, Júnior JG, Junior FT, Guimarães DD, Brasil AQ, Cartaxo JS, Akerman M, Reis AO | title = Electroconvulsive therapy use in adolescents: a systematic review | journal = Annals of General Psychiatry | volume = 12 | issue = 1 | pages = 17 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23718899 | pmc = 3680000 | doi = 10.1186/1744-859X-12-17 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="pmid31714466">{{cite journal | vauthors = Benson NM, Seiner SJ | title = Electroconvulsive Therapy in Children and Adolescents: Clinical Indications and Special Considerations | journal = Harvard Review of Psychiatry | volume = 27 | issue = 6 | pages = 354–358 | year = 2019 | pmid = 31714466 | doi = 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000236 | s2cid = 207934946 }}</ref> |
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Criticisms of the ECT section in particular include the limiting of references to only a few writings of financially conflicted researchers, one of whom was cited fourteen times out of a total of seventeen references, and the fact that the editor of this section, Matthew Rudorfer (a known advocate of ECT) cited to himself twelve times. |
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== |
===Risk of death=== |
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A meta-analysis from 2017 found that the death rate of ECT was around 2.1 per 100,000 procedures.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tørring N, Sanghani SN, Petrides G, Kellner CH, Østergaard SD | title = The mortality rate of electroconvulsive therapy: a systematic review and pooled analysis | journal = Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica | volume = 135 | issue = 5 | pages = 388–397 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 28332236 | doi = 10.1111/acps.12721 | s2cid = 31879446 }}</ref> A review from 2011 reported an estimate of the mortality rate associated with ECT as less than 1 death per 73,440 treatments.<ref name="pmid20966769">{{cite journal | vauthors = Watts BV, Groft A, Bagian JP, Mills PD | title = An examination of mortality and other adverse events related to electroconvulsive therapy using a national adverse event report system | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 27 | issue = 2 | pages = 105–108 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 20966769 | pmc = | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181f6d17f | s2cid = 33442075 }}</ref> |
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#{{note|rd}}{{cite journal | author=Diana Rose, senior researcher1, Pete Fleischmann, researcher1, Til Wykes, professor2, Morven Leese, statistician3, Jonathan Bindman, senior lecturer3 |
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| title=Patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy: systematic review | journal=British Medical Journal | year=2003 | volume=326| issue= 7403| pages=1363 | url=http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/326/7403/1363}} |
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#{{note|bj}}{{Citepaper_version | Author=Johnson, Bob | Title=AN INFORMED CONSENT FORM for ELECTRO CONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT)| PublishYear=2003 | Version=Draft 1 | URL=http://www.psychrights.org/Research/Digest/InformedConsent/DrJohnsonECTInformedConsent.pdf }} |
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#{{note|tl}}{{Citepaper | Author=Texas Legislature | Title=Health & safety code Chapter 578. Electroconvulsive and other therapies Sec.578.001. | PublishYear=2004 | URL=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/HS/content/word/hs.007.00.000578.00.doc}} |
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#{{note|rd2}}{{cite journal | author=Rose D, Wykes T, Bindman J, Fleischmann P | title=Information, consent and perceived coercion: patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy. | journal=British Journal of Psychiatry | year=2005 | volume=186| issue=1 | pages=54–59 | url=http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/186/1/54}} |
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* Abrams R, Taylor MA. ''Anterior bifrontal ECT: a clinical trial.'' Br J Psychiatry. 1973 May;122(570):587-90. PMID 4717031. |
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* Blumenfeld H, McNally KA, Ostroff RB, Zubal IG. ''Targeted prefrontal cortical activation with bifrontal ECT.'' Psychiatry Res. 2003 Jul 30;123(3):165-70. PMID 12928104. |
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* Calloway SP, Dolan RJ, Jacoby RJ, Levy R. ECT and cerebral atrophy. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 1981; 64: 442-445. PMID 7347109. |
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* Cerletti U, Bini L. L'Elettroshock. ''Arch gen neurol psichiat psicoanal'' 1938;19:266-268. |
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* Dolan et al. The cerebral appearance in depressed patients. Psychological Medicine 1986; 16: 775-779. PMID 3823294. |
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* Freeman CP, Weeks D, Kendell RE. ECT II: Patients who complain. Br J Psychiatry 1980; 137:8-16. PMID 7459536. |
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* Rose D, Wykes T, Bindman J, Fleischmann P (2005). Information, consent and perceived coercion: patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry 186: 54-59. [http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/186/1/54 Fulltext]. |
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* Shah PJ, Glabus MF, Goodwin GM, Embeier KP. Chronic, treatment-resistant depression and right fronto-striatal atrophy. British Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 180: 434-440. [http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/180/5/434 Fulltext] |
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* [http://www.healthyplace.com//Communities/Depression/ect/resources/consumerperspectives.pdf SURE (Service User Research Enterprise). Review of Consumers' Perspectives on Electroconvulsive Therapy. London: Department of Health, January 2002.] |
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===Cognitive impairment=== |
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Cognitive impairment sometimes occurs after ECT.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Holtzheimer PE, Mayberg HS | title = Deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression | journal = The American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 167 | issue = 12 | pages = 1437–1444 | date = December 2010 | pmid = 21131410 | pmc = 4413473 | doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10010141 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = McClintock SM, Choi J, Deng ZD, Appelbaum LG, Krystal AD, Lisanby SH | title = Multifactorial determinants of the neurocognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 30 | issue = 2 | pages = 165–176 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24820942 | pmc = 4143898 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000137 | hdl = 10161/10644 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Loo CK, Katalinic N, Smith DJ, Ingram A, Dowling N, Martin D, Addison K, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Simpson B, Schweitzer I | title = A randomized controlled trial of brief and ultrabrief pulse right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy | journal = The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology | volume = 18 | issue = 1 | page = pyu045 | date = December 2014 | pmid = 25522389 | pmc = 4368876 | doi = 10.1093/ijnp/pyu045 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kellner CH, Knapp R, Husain MM, Rasmussen K, Sampson S, Cullum M, McClintock SM, Tobias KG, Martino C, Mueller M, Bailine SH, Fink M, Petrides G | title = Bifrontal, bitemporal and right unilateral electrode placement in ECT: randomised trial | journal = The British Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 196 | issue = 3 | pages = 226–234 | date = March 2010 | pmid = 20194546 | pmc = 2830057 | doi = 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.066183 }}</ref> The [[American Psychiatric Association]] (APA) report in 2001 acknowledges: "In some patients the recovery from [[retrograde amnesia]] will be incomplete, and evidence has shown that ECT can result in persistent or permanent memory loss".<ref name="APA2001guideline"/> It is the purported effects of ECT on long-term memory that give rise to much of the concern surrounding its use.<ref name="Lisanby 2000"/> However, the methods used to measure memory loss are non-specific, and their application to people with depressive disorders, who have [[cognitive deficits]] related to the depression, including problems with memory, may further limit their utility.<ref name=SemkovskaRev2013>{{cite journal | vauthors = Semkovska M, McLoughlin DM | title = Measuring retrograde autobiographical amnesia following electroconvulsive therapy: historical perspective and current issues | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 29 | issue = 2 | pages = 127–133 | date = June 2013 | pmid = 23303426 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e318279c2c9 | s2cid = 45019739 }}</ref> |
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The acute effects of ECT can include [[amnesia]], both retrograde (for events occurring before the treatment) and anterograde (for events occurring after the treatment).<ref name="Benbow">Benbow, SM (2004) "Adverse effects of ECT". In AIF Scott (ed.) [http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/collegereports/cr/cr128.aspx ''The ECT Handbook, second edition.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421154919/http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/collegereports/cr/cr128.aspx |date=2012-04-21 }} London: The Royal College of Psychiatrists, pp. 170–174.</ref> Memory loss and confusion are more pronounced with bilateral electrode placement rather than unilateral, and with outdated sine-wave rather than brief-pulse currents. The use of either constant or pulsing electrical impulses also varied the memory loss results in patients. Patients who received pulsing electrical impulses, as opposed to a steady flow, seemed to incur less memory loss. The vast majority of modern treatment uses brief pulse currents.<ref name="Benbow"/> A greater number of treatments and higher electrical charges (stimulus charges) have also been associated with a greater risk of memory impairment.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> |
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Philpot M, Collins C, Trivedi P, Treloar A, Gallacher S, Rose D (2004). Eliciting users' views of ECT in two mental health trusts with a user-designed questionnaire. Journal of Mental Health 13(4): 403-413. (no hit) |
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Retrograde amnesia is most marked for events occurring in the weeks or months before treatment. [[Anterograde amnesia|Anterograde memory loss]] usually resolves 2–4 weeks after treatment, whereas retrograde amnesia (which develops gradually after repeated treatments in the initial course) usually takes weeks to months to resolve, and amnesia rarely persist for more than 1 year.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> Retrograde amnesia after ECT usually affects autobiographical memory, rather than [[semantic memory]].<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> One published review summarizing the results of questionnaires about subjective memory loss found that between 29% and 55% of respondents believed they experienced long-lasting or permanent memory changes.<ref name="bmj rose">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rose D, Fleischmann P, Wykes T, Leese M, Bindman J | title = Patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy: systematic review | journal = BMJ | volume = 326 | issue = 7403 | pages = 1363–0 | date = June 2003 | pmid = 12816822 | pmc = 162130 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.326.7403.1363 }}</ref> In 2000, American psychiatrist [[Sarah Lisanby]] and colleagues found that bilateral ECT left patients with more persistently impaired memory of public events as compared to right unilateral ECT.<ref name="Lisanby 2000">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lisanby SH, Maddox JH, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Sackeim HA | title = The effects of electroconvulsive therapy on memory of autobiographical and public events | journal = Archives of General Psychiatry | volume = 57 | issue = 6 | pages = 581–590 | date = June 2000 | pmid = 10839336 | doi = 10.1001/archpsyc.57.6.581 | doi-access = }}</ref> However, bilateral ECT may be more efficacious than unilateral in the treatment of mood disorders.<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> |
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Rose D, Wykes T, Bindman J, Fleischmann P (2005). Information, consent and perceived coercion: |
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patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry 186: 54-59. PMID 15630124 |
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ECT has not been found to increase the risk of dementia nor cause structural brain damage.<ref name="Osler 2018">{{cite journal |last1=Osler |first1=Merete |last2=Rozing |first2=Maarten Pieter |last3=Christensen |first3=Gunhild Tidemann |last4=Andersen |first4=Per Kragh |last5=Jørgensen |first5=Martin Balslev |title=Electroconvulsive therapy and risk of dementia in patients with affective disorders: a cohort study |journal=The Lancet Psychiatry |date=April 2018 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=348–356 |doi=10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30056-7|pmid=29523431 }}</ref><ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> |
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Federal Register(USA),1978, November 28. Page 55729. 21 CFR Part 882. Classification of Electroconvulsive Therapy Device. Proposed Rule. |
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===Effects on brain structure=== |
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Federal Register (USA), 1979, September 4. Page 51776. 21 CFR Part 882. Classification of Electroconvulsive Therapy Device. Final Rule. |
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Considerable controversy exists over the effects of ECT on brain tissue, although a number of mental health associations—including the APA—have concluded that there is no evidence that ECT causes structural brain damage.<ref name="APA2001guideline"/><ref name=NICE2009/> A 1999 report by the US Surgeon General states: "The fears that ECT causes gross structural brain pathology have not been supported by decades of methodologically sound research in both humans and animals."<ref name="surgeon"/> |
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Many expert proponents of ECT maintain that the procedure is safe and does not cause brain damage. Dr. Charles Kellner, a prominent ECT researcher and former chief editor of the ''Journal of ECT'', stated in a 2007 interview that, "There are a number of well-designed studies that show ECT does not cause brain damage and numerous reports of patients who have received a large number of treatments over their lifetime and have suffered no significant problems due to ECT."<ref name="kellner interview">{{cite journal| vauthors = Sussman N |date=March 2007|title=In Session with Charles H. Kellner, MD: Current Developments in Electroconvulsive Therapy|url=http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=1028|journal=Primary Psychiatry|volume=14|issue=3|pages=34–37|access-date=2009-10-17|archive-date=2011-05-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516045638/http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=1028|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kellner cites a study purporting to show an absence of cognitive impairment in eight subjects after more than 100 lifetime ECT treatments.<ref name="100 lifetime">{{cite journal | vauthors = Devanand DP, Verma AK, Tirumalasetti F, Sackeim HA | title = Absence of cognitive impairment after more than 100 lifetime ECT treatments | journal = The American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 148 | issue = 7 | pages = 929–932 | date = July 1991 | pmid = 2053635 | doi = 10.1176/ajp.148.7.929 | author-link = Davangere Devanand }}</ref> Kellner stated "Rather than cause brain damage, there is evidence that ECT may reverse some of the damaging effects of serious psychiatric illness." Two meta-analyses find that ECT is associated with brain matter growth.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gbyl K, Videbech P | title = Electroconvulsive therapy increases brain volume in major depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica | volume = 138 | issue = 3 | pages = 180–195 | date = September 2018 | pmid = 29707778 | doi = 10.1111/acps.12884 | s2cid = 14042369 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wilkinson ST, Sanacora G, Bloch MH | title = Hippocampal volume changes following electroconvulsive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = 327–335 | date = May 2017 | pmid = 28989984 | pmc = 5627663 | doi = 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.01.011 }}</ref> |
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Food and Drug Administration (USA), Dockets Management Branch, Rockville, Maryland. Docket #82P- |
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0316: Electroconvulsive Therapy Device; Vols. 1-38, 1982---present. |
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===Effects in pregnancy=== |
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Cameron DG. ECT: sham statistics, the myth of convulsive therapy, and the case for consumer |
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If steps are taken to decrease potential risks, ECT is generally accepted to be relatively safe during all trimesters of pregnancy, particularly when compared to pharmacological treatments.<ref name=Pompili2014Rev/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Richards EM, Payne JL | title = The management of mood disorders in pregnancy: alternatives to antidepressants | journal = CNS Spectrums | volume = 18 | issue = 5 | pages = 261–271 | date = October 2013 | pmid = 23570692 | doi = 10.1017/S1092852913000151 | type = Submitted manuscript | s2cid = 24489076 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1235843 }}</ref> Suggested preparation for ECT during pregnancy includes a [[pelvic examination]], discontinuation of nonessential [[anticholinergic]] medication, uterine tocodynamometry, intravenous hydration, and administration of a nonparticulate [[antacid]]. During ECT, elevation of the pregnant woman's right hip, external fetal cardiac monitoring, [[intubation]], and avoidance of excessive [[hyperventilation]] are recommended.<ref name=Pompili2014Rev/> In many instances of active mood disorder during pregnancy, the risks of untreated symptoms may outweigh the risks of ECT. Potential complications of ECT during pregnancy can be minimized by modifications in technique. The use of ECT during pregnancy requires thorough evaluation of the patient's capacity for informed consent.<ref name="Miller1994">{{cite journal | vauthors = Miller LJ | title = Use of electroconvulsive therapy during pregnancy | journal = Hospital & Community Psychiatry | volume = 45 | issue = 5 | pages = 444–450 | date = May 1994 | pmid = 8045538 | doi = 10.1176/ps.45.5.444 }}</ref> |
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misinformation. J of Mind and Behavior 1994; 15(1-2): 177-198. <!--Not PubMed indexed--> |
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===Effects on the heart=== |
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Calev A. Neuropsychology and ECT: past and future research trends. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 1994; 30(3): 461-464. PMID 7878183 |
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ECT can cause a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart, [[heart arrhythmia]], and "persistent [[asystole]]". A 2019 [[systematic review]] and [[meta-analysis]] of 82 studies found that the rate of major adverse cardiac events with ECT was 1 in 39 patients or about 1 in 200 to 500 procedures.<ref name="pmid30557212">{{cite journal | vauthors = Duma A, Maleczek M, Panjikaran B, Herkner H, Karrison T, Nagele P | title = Major Adverse Cardiac Events and Mortality Associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | journal = Anesthesiology | volume = 130 | issue = 1 | pages = 83–91 | date = January 2019 | pmid = 30557212 | pmc = 6300062 | doi = 10.1097/ALN.0000000000002488 }}</ref><ref name="pmid35100527">{{cite journal | vauthors = Read J, Moncrieff J | title = Depression: why drugs and electricity are not the answer | journal = Psychological Medicine | volume = 52 | issue = 8 | pages = 1401–1410 | date = June 2022 | pmid = 35100527 | doi = 10.1017/S0033291721005031 | s2cid = 246442707 | url = https://repository.uel.ac.uk/download/0fd9663377e02e8033e12c27844d65b5e918406de4d7c7baca5031a8e8ba4c5a/408146/Read%20and%20Moncrieff%20Psych%20Med%20ROAR.pdf }}</ref> The risk of death with ECT however is low.<ref name="ReadKirschMcGrath2019">{{cite journal | vauthors = Read J, Kirsch I, McGrath L | title = Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: A Review of the Quality of ECT versus Sham ECT Trials and Meta-Analyses | journal = Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry | date = 1 October 2019 | volume = 21 | issue = 2 | pages = 64–103 | issn = 1559-4343 | eissn = 1938-9000 | doi = 10.1891/EHPP-D-19-00014 | pmid = | url = https://www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ECT-study-John-Read-Irving-Kirsch-Laura-McGrath-64.full_.pdf}}</ref><ref name="pmid30557212" /> If death does occur, cardiovascular complications are considered as causal in about 30% of individuals.<ref name="pmid30557212" /> |
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== Procedure == |
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Freeman CP, Weeks D, Kendell RE. ECT II: Patients who complain. Br J Psychiatry 1980; 137:8-16. |
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[[File:ECT machine 03.JPG|thumb|Electroconvulsive therapy machine on display at [[Glenside Museum]] in [[Bristol]], England]] |
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Peddler M. Shock Treatment: A Survey of People's Experience of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). |
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[[File:NTM Eg Asyl ECT apparatus IMG 0977.JPG|thumb|ECT device produced by [[Siemens]] and used for example at the Asyl psychiatric hospital in [[Kristiansand]], [[Norway]] from the 1960s to the 1980s]] |
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London: MIND, 2000. PMID 7459536 |
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The placement of electrodes, as well as the dose and duration of the stimulation is determined on a per-patient basis.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1881}} |
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SURE (Service User Research Enterprise). Review of Consumers' Perspectives on Electroconvulsive |
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Therapy. London: Department of Health, January 2002. |
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In unilateral ECT, both electrodes are placed on the same side of the patient's head. Unilateral ECT may be used first to minimize side effects such as memory loss. |
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Janis IL. Psychologic effects of electric convulsive treatments (I. Post-Treatment Amnesias). Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1950(a); 111: 359-381. PMID 15422375 |
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In bilateral ECT, the two electrodes are placed on opposite sides of the head. Usually bitemporal placement is used, whereby the electrodes are placed on the temples. Uncommonly bifrontal placement is used; this involves positioning the electrodes on the patient's forehead, roughly above each eye. |
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Videotape deposition of Harold Sackeim. PhD, Case No. 01069713, Atze Akkerman and Elizabeth Akkerman v. Joseph Johnson, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, and Does 1-20, Court of the State of California for the County of Santa Barbara, Anacapa Division, March 14, 2004 |
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Unilateral ECT is thought to cause fewer cognitive effects than bilateral treatment, but is less effective unless administered at higher doses.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1881}} Most patients in the US<ref name="Prudic 01">{{cite journal |vauthors=Prudic J, Olfson M, Sackeim HA |title=Electro-convulsive therapy practices in the community |journal=Psychol Med |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=929–934 |date=July 2001 |pmid=11459391 |doi= 10.1017/S0033291701003750|s2cid=12210381 }}</ref> and almost all in the UK<ref name="Dr.Jamal">{{cite web| vauthors = Barnes R |title=Information on ECT|url=http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/expertadvice/treatmentswellbeing/ect.aspx|publisher=Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT and related treatment|access-date=3 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="The Royal College">Royal College of Psychiatrists. Council Report. ''The ECT Handbook: The Third Report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee of ECT.'' RCPsych Publications, 2005 {{ISBN|978-1904671220}}</ref><ref name="Duffett">{{cite journal |vauthors=Duffett R, Lelliott P |title=Auditing electroconvulsive therapy. The third cycle |journal=Br J Psychiatry |volume=172 |issue= 5|pages=401–405 |year=1998 |pmid=9747401 |doi=10.1192/bjp.172.5.401|s2cid=23584054 }}</ref> receive bilateral ECT. |
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Cott, Jonathan. On the Sea of Memory. New York: Random House, 2004. |
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The electrodes deliver an electrical stimulus. The stimulus levels recommended for ECT are in excess of an individual's seizure threshold: about one and a half times seizure threshold for bilateral ECT and up to 12 times for unilateral ECT.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1881}} Below these levels treatment may not be effective in spite of a seizure, while doses massively above threshold level, especially with bilateral ECT, expose patients to the risk of more severe cognitive impairment without additional therapeutic gains.<ref name="Lock"/> Seizure threshold is determined by trial and error ("[[dose titration]]"). Some psychiatrists use dose titration, some still use "fixed dose" (that is, all patients are given the same dose) and others compromise by roughly estimating a patient's threshold according to age and sex.<ref name="Prudic 01"/> Older men tend to have higher thresholds than younger women, but it is not a hard and fast rule, and other factors, for example drugs, affect seizure threshold. |
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Templer DI, Veleber DM. Can ECT permanently harm the brain? Clinical Neuropsychology 1982; 4(2): 62-66 <!--Not PubMed indexed--> |
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Immediately prior to treatment, a patient is given a short-acting anesthetic such as [[methohexital]], [[propofol]], [[etomidate]], or [[thiopental]],<ref name="Rudorfer"/> a muscle relaxant such as [[suxamethonium]] (succinylcholine), and occasionally [[atropine]] to inhibit salivation.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1882}} Studies have shown that adding ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, to the anesthesia regimen produced greater decreases in depression scores when compared to propofol, methohexital, and thiopental alone. <ref>Sicignano DJ, Kantesaria R, Mastropietro M, et al. The Impact of Ketamine-Based Versus Non-Ketamine-Based ECT Anesthesia Regimens on the Severity of Patients’ Depression and Occurrence of Adverse Events: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/10600280241260754.</ref> In a minority of countries such as Japan,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Motohashi N, Awata S, Higuchi T |title=A questionnaire survey of ECT practice in university hospitals and national hospitals in Japan |journal=J ECT |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=21–23 |year=2004 |pmid=15087992 |doi=10.1097/00124509-200403000-00005|s2cid=41654261 }}</ref> India,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Chanpattana W, Kunigiri G, Kramer BA, Gangadhar BN |title=Survey of the practice of electroconvulsive therapy in teaching hospitals in India |journal=J ECT |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=100–104 |year=2005 |pmid=15905751 |doi=10.1097/01.yct.0000166634.73555.e6|s2cid=5985564 }}</ref> and Nigeria,<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ikeji OC, Ohaeri JU, Osahon RO, Agidee RO |title=Naturalistic comparative study of outcome and cognitive effects of unmodified electro-convulsive therapy in schizophrenia, mania and severe depression in Nigeria |journal=East Afr Med J |volume=76 |issue=11 |pages=644–50 |year=1999 |pmid=10734527 }}</ref> ECT may be used without anesthesia. The Union Health Ministry of India recommended a ban on ECT without anesthesia in India's Mental Health Care Bill of 2010 and the Mental Health Care Bill of 2013.<ref>Teena Thacker for Indian Express. Mar 23 2011 [http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Electroshocks-for-mentally-ill-patients-to-be-banned/766051/ Electroshocks for mentally ill patients to be banned]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.4103/0019-5545.117129|pmid=24082240|pmc=3777341|year=2013| vauthors = Kala A |title=Time to face new realities; mental health care bill-2013|journal=Indian Journal of Psychiatry|volume=55|issue=3|pages=216–219 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The practice was abolished in Turkey's largest psychiatric hospital in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://v1.dpi.org/lang-en/resources/topics_detail?page=557 |title=Abusive practice of "unmodified" electroshock treatment abolished at main psychiatric facility of Turkey |access-date=2008-03-25 |publisher=[[Disabled Peoples' International]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012175528/http://v1.dpi.org/lang-en/resources/topics_detail?page=557 |archive-date=2007-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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Colon EJ, Notermans SLH. A long-term study of the effects of electro-convulsions on the structure of the cerebral cortex. Acta Neuropathologica (Berlin)1975; 32: 21-25 PMID 1146505 |
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The patient's [[EEG]], [[ECG]], and [[blood oxygen level]]s are monitored during treatment.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1882}} |
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Weinberger DR, Torrey EF, Neophytides AN et al. Lateral cerebral ventricular enlargement in chronic schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry 1979; 36: 735-739. PMID 36863 |
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ECT is usually administered three times a week, on alternate days, over a course of two to four weeks.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1882–1883}} |
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Calloway SP, Dolan RJ, Jacoby RJ, Levy R. ECT and cerebral atrophy. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 1981; 64: 442-445 PMID 7347109 |
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[[File:Electroconvulsive Therapy.png|thumb|An illustration depicting electroconvulsive therapy]] |
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===Neuroimaging prior to ECT=== |
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Templer RI, Ruff CF, Armstrong G. Cognitive functioning and degree of psychosis in schizophrenics given many electroconvulsive treatments. British Journal of Psychiatry 1973; 123: 441-443. |
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Neuroimaging prior to ECT may be useful for detecting intracranial pressure or mass given that patients respond less when one of these conditions exist. Nonetheless, it is not indicated due to high cost and low prevalence of these conditions in patients needing ECT.<ref name="LWW">{{cite journal | vauthors = Narang P, Swenson A, Lippmann S | title = Neuroimaging Before ECT? | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 35 | issue = 1 | pages = e5–e6 | date = March 2019 | pmid = 29944607 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000515 | s2cid = 49432743 }}</ref> |
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=== Concurrent pharmacotherapy === |
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Shah PJ, Glabus MF, Goodwin GM, Embeier KP. Chronic, treatment-resistant depression and right fronto-striatal atrophy. British Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 180: 434-440. |
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Whether psychiatric medications are terminated prior to treatment or maintained, varies.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1885}}<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Haskett RF, Loo C | title = Adjunctive psychotropic medications during electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression, mania, and schizophrenia | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 26 | issue = 3 | pages = 196–201 | date = September 2010 | pmid = 20805728 | pmc = 2952444 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e3181eee13f }}</ref> However, drugs that are known to cause toxicity in combination with ECT, such as [[Lithium (medication)|lithium]], are discontinued, and [[benzodiazepines]], which increase the [[seizure threshold]],<ref>{{cite web|author1=Madhavan Seshadri|author2=Nadeem Z Mazi-Kotwal|title=Response Predictors in ECT: A discussion about Seizure Threshold|url=http://www.bjmp.org/content/response-predictors-ect-discussion-about-seizure-threshold|publisher=British Journal of Medical Practitioners|access-date=23 March 2016|ref=BJMP 2011;4(2):a424}}</ref> are either discontinued, a benzodiazepine antagonist is administered at each ECT session, or the ECT treatment is adjusted accordingly.<ref name="Rudorfer"/>{{rp|1875, 1879}} |
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A 2009 RCT provides some evidence indicating that concurrent use of some antidepressant improves ECT efficacy.<ref name="Psychiatry p."/> |
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Diehl DJ, Keshavan MS, Kanal E, et al Post-ECT increases in T2 relaxation times and their relationship to cognitive side effects: a pilot study. Psychiatry Res 1994 (November); 54(2): 177-184. |
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=== Course === |
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Marcheselli et al. Sustained induction of prostaglandin endoperoxidase synthase-2 by seizures in hippocampus. J Biol Chem 1996; 271: 24794-24799. |
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ECT is usually done from 6 to 12 times in 2 to 4 weeks but can sometimes exceed 12 rounds.<ref name="Psychiatry p."/> It is also recommended to not do ECT more than 3 times per week.<ref name="Psychiatry p."/> Evidence suggest that ECTs for depression may be stopped if there is no improvement during the first six sessions.<ref name="h382">{{cite journal | last1=Thirthalli | first1=Jagadisha | last2=Naik | first2=Shalini S. | last3=Kunigiri | first3=Girish | title=Frequency and Duration of Course of ECT Sessions: An Appraisal of Recent Evidence | journal=Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine | volume=42 | issue=3 | date=2020 | issn=0253-7176 | pmid=32612324 | pmc=7320735 | doi=10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_410_19 | doi-access=free | pages=207–218}}</ref> |
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=== Treatment team === |
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Andreasen et al. MRI of the brain in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry 1990; 47: 35-41. |
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In the US, the medical team performing the procedure typically consists of a psychiatrist, an anesthetist, an ECT treatment nurse or qualified assistant, and one or more recovery nurses.<ref name="APA2001guideline"/>{{rp|109}} Medical trainees may assist, but only under the direct supervision of credentialed attending physicians and staff.<ref name="APA2001guideline"/>{{rp|110}} |
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Dolan et al. The cerebral appearance in depressed patients. Psychological Medicine 1986; 16: 775-779 |
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=== Devices === |
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Figiel G, Coffey E, et al. Brain MRI findings in ECT-induced delirium. Journal of Neuropsych and Clin Sci 1990: 2: 53-58 |
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[[File:Siemens konvulsator III (ECT machine).jpg|thumb|Vintage ECT machine from before 1960]] |
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[[File:ThymatronIV.jpg|thumb|Modern ECT machine]] |
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Ebaugh FG, Barnacle CH, Neubuerger KT. Fatalities following electric convulsive therapy. A report of two cases with autopsy findings. Transactions of the American Neurological Association 1942; 36. |
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Most modern ECT devices deliver a brief-pulse current, which is thought to cause fewer cognitive effects than the sine-wave currents which were originally used in ECT.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> A small minority of psychiatrists in the US still use sine-wave stimuli.<ref name="Prudic 01"/> Sine-wave is no longer used in the UK or Ireland.<ref name="Duffett"/> |
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Gralnick A. Fatalities associated with electric shock treatment of psychoses: report of two cases, with autopsy observations in one of them. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 1944; 51: 397. |
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Typically, the electrical stimulus used in ECT is about 800 [[amperes|milliamps]] and has up to several hundred [[watt]]s, and the current flows for between one and six seconds.<ref name="Lock">Lock, T (1995). "Stimulus dosing". In C Freeman (ed.) ''The ECT Handbook''. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 72–87.</ref> |
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In the US, ECT devices are manufactured by two companies, Somatics, which is owned by psychiatrists Richard Abrams and Conrad Swartz, and Mecta.<ref>Corinne Slusher for MedScape. Updated: Jan 6, 2012 [http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2015450-overview#showall Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine]</ref> In the UK, the market for ECT devices was long monopolized by Ectron Ltd, which was set up by psychiatrist Robert Russell.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ectron.co.uk/our-story |title=Ectron: Our story |access-date=2015-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027122953/http://www.ectron.co.uk/our-story |archive-date=2014-10-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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Jeter WW. Fatal circulatory failure caused by electric shock therapy. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 1944; 51: 557. |
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== Mechanism of action == |
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Meyer A, Teare D. Cerebral fat embolism after electric convulsive therapy. British Medical Journal 1945; 2: 42. |
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Despite decades of research, the exact mechanism of action of ECT remains elusive. A review from 2022 of [[neuroimaging]] studies based on a global data collaboration resulted in a model of temporary disruption of neural circuits followed by augmented neuroplasticity and rewiring.<ref name="Ousdal_2022" /> Other brain changes observed after ECT include increased [[gray matter]] volume in the frontolimbic areas including the [[hippocampus]] and [[amygdala]], increased [[white matter]] tracts in the [[frontal lobe|frontal]] and [[temporal lobe|temporal]] lobes, increased [[monoamine]] neurotransmitters and increased neurogenesis in the [[dentate gyrus]].<ref name="Espinoza 2022" /> Changes in sleep architecture due to the induced seizures have also been hypothesized as a mechanism of action.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Tsoukalas | first=Ioannis | title=How does ECT work? A new explanatory model and suggestions for non-convulsive applications | journal=Medical Hypotheses| volume=145 | issue=110337 | year=2020 | pmid=33099256 | doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110337 | url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110337}}</ref> |
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==Use== |
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Sprague DW, Taylor RC. The complications of electric shock therapy with a case study. Ohio State Medical Journal 1948; 44: 51-54. |
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As of 2001, it was estimated that about one million people received ECT annually.<ref name=LeiknesWWrev2012/> |
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There is wide variation in ECT use between different countries, different hospitals, and different psychiatrists.<ref name="Rudorfer"/><ref name=LeiknesWWrev2012/> International practice varies considerably from widespread use of the therapy in many Western countries to a small minority of countries that do not use ECT at all, such as Slovenia.<ref>See the [http://e-uprava.gov.si/e-uprava/en/faqKategorijaVprasanje.euprava?faq.id=74&faq.vprasanje.id=328 Slovenian government website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808181603/http://e-uprava.gov.si/e-uprava/en/faqKategorijaVprasanje.euprava?faq.id=74&faq.vprasanje.id=328 |date=2007-08-08 }} for information about ECT in Slovenia.</ref> |
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Will OA, Rehfeldt FC. A fatality in electroshock therapy: report of a case and review of certain previously discussed cases. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1048; 107: 105-126. |
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About 70 percent of ECT patients are women.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> This may be because women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.<ref name="Rudorfer"/><ref name="Reid"/> Older and more affluent patients are also more likely to receive ECT. The use of ECT is not as common in ethnic minorities.<ref name="Reid"/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Euba R, Saiz A |title=A comparison of the ethnic distribution in the depressed inpatient population and in the electroconvulsive therapy clinic |journal=J ECT |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=235–236 |year=2006 |pmid=17143151 |doi=10.1097/01.yct.0000235928.39279.52|s2cid=28261416 }}</ref> |
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Martin PA. Convulsive therapies: review of 511 cases at Pontiac State Hospital. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1949; 109: 142-157. |
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In Sweden, which has a complete register of all ECT treatments in the country, in 2013 the rate of persons treated in that year per 100,000 inhabitants was 41. Almost the same rate had already been present in 1975 with 42 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.<ref name="pmid25973769">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nordanskog P, Hultén M, Landén M, Lundberg J, von Knorring L, Nordenskjöld A | title = Electroconvulsive Therapy in Sweden 2013: Data From the National Quality Register for ECT | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 31 | issue = 4 | pages = 263–267 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 25973769 | pmc = 4652632 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000243 }}</ref><ref name="pmid27093104">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nordenskjöld A, Mårtensson B, Pettersson A, Heintz E, Landén M | title = Effects of Hesel-coil deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression - a systematic review | journal = Nordic Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 70 | issue = 7 | pages = 492–497 | date = October 2016 | pmid = 27093104 | pmc = 5020337 | doi = 10.3109/08039488.2016.1166263 }}</ref> |
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Riese W, Fultz GS. Electric shock treatment succeeded by complete flaccid paralysis, hallucinations, and sudden death. |
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=== United States === |
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Liban E, Halpen L, Rozanski J. Vascular changes in the brain in a fatality following electroshock. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology 1951; 309-318. |
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ECT became popular in the US in the 1940s. At the time, psychiatric hospitals were overrun with patients whom doctors were desperate to treat and cure. Whereas [[lobotomies]] would reduce a patient to a more manageable submissive state, ECT helped to improve mood in those with severe depression. A survey of psychiatric practice in the late 1980s found that an estimated 100,000 people received ECT annually, with wide variation between metropolitan statistical areas.<ref name="Hermann 95">{{cite journal |vauthors=Hermann R, Dorwart R, Hoover C, Brody J | title=Variation in ECT use in the United States | journal=Am J Psychiatry | volume=152 | issue=6 | pages=869–875 | year=1995 | pmid=7755116 | doi=10.1176/ajp.152.6.869}}</ref> |
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Accurate statistics about the frequency, context and circumstances of ECT in the US are difficult to obtain because only a few states have reporting laws that require the treating facility to supply state authorities with this information.<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Cauchon D | title = Patients often aren't informed of full danger | url = http://www.harborside.com/~equinox/ect1.htm | newspaper = USA Today | date = 1995-12-06 | access-date = 2008-01-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080115204557/http://www.harborside.com/~equinox/ect1.htm | archive-date = 2008-01-15 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 13 of the 50 states, the practice of ECT is regulated by law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-everyone-became-depressed/201312/electroconvulsive-therapy-in-children|title=Electroconvulsive Therapy in Children | Psychology Today|website=www.psychologytoday.com}}</ref> |
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Corsellis J, Meyer A. Histological changes in the brain after uncomplicated electro-convulsive treatment. Journal of Mental Science 1954; 100: 375-383. |
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In the mid-1990s in Texas, ECT was used in about one third of psychiatric facilities and given to about 1,650 people annually.<ref name="Reid">{{cite journal |vauthors=Reid WH, Keller S, Leatherman M, Mason M |title=ECT in Texas: 19 months of mandatory reporting |journal=J Clin Psychiatry |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=8–13 |date=January 1998 |pmid=9491059 |doi= 10.4088/JCP.v59n0103}}</ref> |
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Madow L. Brain changes in electroshock therapy. American Journal of Psychiatry 1956; 113: 337-347. |
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Usage of ECT has since declined slightly; in 2000–01 ECT was given to about 1,500 people aged from 16 to 97 (in Texas it is illegal to give ECT to anyone under sixteen).<ref>Texas Department of State (2002) [http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/mhquality/ECT_Complete_Report_FY01.pdf Electroconvulsive therapy reports] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810172506/http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/mhquality/ECT_Complete_Report_FY01.pdf |date=2007-08-10 }}.</ref> ECT is more commonly used in private psychiatric hospitals than in public hospitals, and minority patients are underrepresented in the ECT statistics.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> |
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In the United States, ECT is usually given three times a week; in the United Kingdom, it is usually given twice a week.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> Occasionally it is given on a daily basis.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> A course usually consists of 6–12 treatments, but may be more or fewer. Following a course of ECT some patients may be given continuation or maintenance ECT with further treatments at weekly, fortnightly or monthly intervals.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> A few psychiatrists in the US use multiple-monitored ECT (MMECT), where patients receive more than one treatment per anesthetic.<ref name="Rudorfer"/> Electroconvulsive therapy is not a required subject in US medical schools and not a required skill in psychiatric residency training. Privileging for ECT practice at institutions is a local option: no national certification standards are established, and no ECT-specific continuing training experiences are required of ECT practitioners.<ref name="Fink2007">Fink, M. & Taylor, A.M. (2007) [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/3/330 "Electroconvulsive therapy: Evidence and Challenges"] ''JAMA'' Vol. 298 No. 3, pp. 330–332.</ref> |
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Faurbye A. Death under electroshock treatment. Acta Psychiatrica Neurologica 1942; 17: 39. |
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=== United Kingdom === |
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Maclay WS. Death due to treatment. Proceedings of the Society of Medicine 1953; 46: 13-20. |
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In the UK in 1980, an estimated 50,000 people received ECT annually, with use declining steadily since then<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Pippard J, Ellam L |title=Electroconvulsion treatment in Great Britain 1980 |journal=Lancet |volume=2 |issue=8256 |pages=1160–1161 |year=1981 |pmid=6118592 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(81)90602-4 |s2cid=30499609 }}</ref> to about 12,000 per annum in 2002.<ref name=UKstats2002 /> It is still used in nearly all psychiatric hospitals, with a survey of ECT use from 2002 finding that 71 percent of patients were women and 46 percent were over 65 years of age. Eighty-one percent had a diagnosis of [[mood disorder]]; schizophrenia was the next most common diagnosis. Sixteen percent were treated without their consent.<ref name=UKstats2002>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605142554/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/Statisticalhealthcare/DH_4000216 Electro convulsive therapy: survey covering the period from January 2002 to March 2002]. Department of Health.</ref> In 2003, the [[National Institute for Health and Care Excellence]], a government body which was set up to standardize treatment throughout the [[National Health Service]] in England and Wales, issued guidance on the use of ECT. Its use was recommended "only to achieve rapid and short-term improvement of severe symptoms after an adequate trial of treatment options has proven ineffective and/or when the condition is considered to be potentially life-threatening in individuals with severe depressive illness, catatonia or a prolonged manic episode".<ref name="nice intro">NICE 2003. [http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=11494 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908060011/http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=byID&o=11494 |date=2008-09-08 }}. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.</ref> |
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The guidance received a mixed reception. It was welcomed by an editorial in the ''[[The BMJ|British Medical Journal]]''<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Carney S, Geddes J | title = Electroconvulsive therapy | journal = BMJ | volume = 326 | issue = 7403 | pages = 1343–1344 | date = June 2003 | pmid = 12816798 | pmc = 1126234 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.326.7403.1343 }}</ref> but the [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]] launched an unsuccessful appeal.<ref>NICE (2003). [http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=62452 Appraisal of electroconvulsive therapy: decision of the appeal panel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070521100602/http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=62452 |date=2007-05-21 }}. London: NICE.</ref> The NICE guidance, as the ''British Medical Journal'' editorial points out, is only a policy statement and psychiatrists may deviate from it if they see fit. Adherence to standards has not been universal in the past. A survey of ECT use in 1980 found that more than half of ECT clinics failed to meet minimum standards set by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, with a later survey in 1998 finding that minimum standards were largely adhered to, but that two-thirds of clinics still fell short of current guidelines, particularly in the training and supervision of junior doctors involved in the procedure.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Duffett R, Lelliott P | title = Auditing electroconvulsive therapy. The third cycle | journal = The British Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 172 | issue = 5 | pages = 401–405 | date = May 1998 | pmid = 9747401 | doi = 10.1192/bjp.172.5.401 | s2cid = 23584054 }}</ref> A voluntary accreditation scheme, ECTAS, was set up in 2004 by the Royal College, and {{as of|2017|lc=y}} the vast majority of ECT clinics in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have signed up.<ref>Royal College of Psychiatrists (2017). [https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/ccqi/quality-networks/electro-convulsive-therapy-clinics-(ectas)/ectas-dataset-report-2016-17.pdf?sfvrsn=8120becc_2] 2016–2017.</ref> |
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Matthew JR, Constan E. Complications following ECT over a three-year period in a state institution. American Journal of Psychiatry 1964; 120: 1119-1120. |
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The [[Mental Health Act 2007]] allows people to be treated against their will. This law has extra protections regarding ECT. A patient capable of making the decision can decline the treatment, and in that case treatment cannot be given unless it will save that patient's life or is immediately necessary to prevent deterioration of the patient's condition. A patient may not be capable of making the decision (they "lack capacity"), and in that situation ECT can be given if it is appropriate and also if there are no advance directives that prevent the use of ECT.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mentalhealthlaw.co.uk/Additional_safeguards_for_ECT_introduced_in_new_s58A | title=Additional safeguards for ECT introduced in new s58A – Mental Health Law Online}}</ref> |
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Barker J, Baker A. Deaths associated with electroplexy. Journal of Mental Science 1959; 105: 339-348. |
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===China=== |
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Andre L (2001, May 18). Testimony at the public hearing of the New York State (U.S.) Assembly Standing Committee on Mental Health on electroconvulsive therapy. |
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ECT was introduced in China in the early 1950s and while it was originally practiced without anesthesia, as of 2012 almost all procedures were conducted with it. As of 2012, there are approximately 400 ECT machines in China, and 150,000 ECT treatments are performed each year.<ref name=Tang>{{cite journal |vauthors=Tang YL, etal | date = Dec 2012 | title = Electroconvulsive therapy in China: clinical practice and research on efficacy | journal = J ECT | volume = 28 | issue = 4| pages = 206–212 | pmid = 22801297 | doi=10.1097/YCT.0b013e31825957b1| s2cid = 2743272 }}</ref> Chinese national practice guidelines recommend ECT for the treatment of schizophrenia, depressive disorders, and bipolar disorder and in the Chinese literature, ECT is an effective treatment for schizophrenia and mood disorders.<ref name=Tang/> |
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Although the Chinese government stopped classifying homosexuality as an illness in 2001, electroconvulsive therapy is still used by some establishments as a form of "[[conversion therapy]]".<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Graham-Harrison E, Connaire S |title=Chinese hospitals still offering gay 'cure' therapy, film reveals |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/08/chinese-hospitals-still-offering-gay-cure-therapy-documentary-reveals |work=The Guardian|date=8 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://time.com/4367925/china-lgbt-gay-conversion-therapy-rights/ |title= This Man Was Sectioned in China for Being Gay. Now He's Fighting Back |magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |author= Hannah Beech |date= June 13, 2016 |access-date= October 20, 2017}}</ref> Alleged [[Internet addiction disorder|Internet addiction]] (or general unruliness) in [[Adolescence|adolescents]] is also known to have been treated with ECT, sometimes without anestheia, most notably by [[Yang Yongxin]]. The practice was banned in 2009 after news on Yang broke out.<ref name="sciencemag">{{Cite journal|title=China Reins in Wilder Impulses in Treatment of 'Internet Addiction' |journal=[[Science (magazine)|Science]]|date=2009-07-26 |doi=10.1126/science.324_1630 |pmid=19556477 |volume=324 |issue=5935 |pages=1630–1631| vauthors = Stone R | bibcode = 2009Sci...324.1630S |doi-access=free }}</ref> |
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Donahue A (1999, March 12). Testimony at the public hearing of the Vermont (U.S.) Health and Welfare Committee on electroconvulsive therapy. |
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==Society and culture== |
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Rose D, Fleischmann P, Wykes T, Leese M, Bindman J (2003, June 21). Patients' perspectives on |
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===Controversy=== |
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electroconvulsive therapy: systematic review. British Medical Journal 2003 (June 21): 326 7403), 1363-1367, 2003 |
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Surveys of public opinion, the testimony of former patients, legal restrictions on the use of ECT and disputes as to the efficacy, ethics and adverse effects of ECT within the psychiatric and wider medical community indicate that the use of ECT remains controversial.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fisher P | title = Psychological factors related to the experience of and reaction to electroconvulsive therapy | journal = Journal of Mental Health | volume = 21 | issue = 6 | pages = 589–599 | date = December 2012 | pmid = 23216225 | doi = 10.3109/09638237.2012.734656 | s2cid = 42581352 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Philpot M, Treloar A, Gormley N, Gustafson L | title = Barriers to the use of electroconvulsive therapy in the elderly: a European survey | journal = European Psychiatry | volume = 17 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–45 | date = March 2002 | pmid = 11918992 | doi = 10.1016/S0924-9338(02)00620-X | s2cid = 24740314 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Whitaker R |title=Mad in America: bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill|year=2010|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-465-02014-0|pages=102–106|edition=Rev. pbk.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Golenkov A, Ungvari GS, Gazdag G | title = Public attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy in the Chuvash Republic | journal = The International Journal of Social Psychiatry | volume = 58 | issue = 3 | pages = 289–294 | date = May 2012 | pmid = 21339235 | doi = 10.1177/0020764010394282 | s2cid = 6300979 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Committee on Mental Health|title=Report on Electroconvulsive Therapy|url=http://assembly.state.ny.us/member_files/125/20020416/|publisher=New York State Assembly|access-date=8 March 2011|date=March 2002|archive-date=30 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430201040/http://assembly.state.ny.us/member_files/125/20020416/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Melding P | title = Electroconvulsive therapy in New Zealand: terrifying or electrifying? | journal = The New Zealand Medical Journal | volume = 119 | issue = 1237 | pages = U2051 | date = July 2006 | pmid = 16862197 | url = http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/119-1237/2051/ | access-date = 2011-03-08 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110501071348/http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/119-1237/2051/ | archive-date = 2011-05-01 }}</ref><ref name=Teh/> This is reflected in the January 2011 vote by the FDA's Neurological Devices Advisory Panel to recommend that FDA maintain ECT devices in the Class III device category for high risk devices, except for patients with catatonia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.<ref name=":1">{{Cite press release|author=US Food and Drug Administration|date=2018-12-21|title=FDA In Brief: FDA takes action to ensure regulation of electroconvulsive therapy devices better protects patients, reflects current understanding of safety and effectiveness|url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-brief/fda-brief-fda-takes-action-ensure-regulation-electroconvulsive-therapy-devices-better-protects|language=en}}</ref> This may result in the manufacturers of such devices having to do controlled trials on their safety and efficacy for the first time.<ref name=FDA2011rev/><ref name=PsychTimes>{{cite web| vauthors = Kellner CH |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120821012138/http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/electroconvulsive-therapy/content/article/10168/1897020 |archive-date=2012-08-21 |access-date=2012-10-25 |url=http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/electroconvulsive-therapy/content/article/10168/1897020 |title=The FDA Advisory Panel on the Reclassification of ECT Devices: ''Unjustified Ambivalence'' |date=2012-07-05 |website=[[Psychiatric Times]] |publisher=[[UBM plc|UBM Medica]] |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=NYTimesReg>Duff Wilson for the New York Times. January 28, 2011 [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/health/29shock.html F.D.A. Panel Is Split on Electroshock Risks]</ref> In justifying their position, panelists referred to the memory loss associated with ECT and the lack of long-term data.<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Mechcatie E | title=FDA Regulation of ECT Devices in Transition|url=http://www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com/specialty-focus/depression/single-article-page/fda-regulation-of-ect-devices-in-transition.html|website=Clinical Psychiatry News|access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> |
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=== Legal status === |
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Squire LR, Slater PC (1983). Electroconvulsive therapy and complaints of memory dysfunction: a |
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prospective three-year follow-up study. British Journal of Psychiatry 142: 1-8. |
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==== Informed consent ==== |
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: |
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The [[World Health Organization]] (2005) advises that ECT should be used only with the informed consent of the patient (or their guardian if their incapacity to consent has been established).<ref name="who.int"/> |
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In the US, this doctrine places a legal obligation on a doctor to make a patient aware of the reason for treatment, the risks and benefits of a proposed treatment, the risks and benefits of alternative treatment, and the risks and benefits of receiving no treatment. The patient is then given the opportunity to accept or reject the treatment. The form states how many treatments are recommended and also makes the patient aware that consent may be revoked and treatment discontinued at any time during a course of ECT.<ref name="SG"/> The US Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health states that patients should be warned that the benefits of ECT are short-lived without active continuation treatment in the form of drugs or further ECT, and that there may be some risk of permanent, severe memory loss after ECT.<ref name="SG"/> The report advises psychiatrists to involve patients in discussion, possibly with the aid of leaflets or videos, both before and during a course of ECT. |
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Heilbrunn G, Liebert E. Biopsies on the brain following artificially produced convulsions. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 1941; 46: 458-552. |
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According to the US Surgeon General, involuntary treatment is uncommon in the US and is typically used only in cases of great extremity, and only when all other treatment options have been exhausted. The use of ECT is believed to be a potentially life-saving treatment.<ref name="surgeon">{{cite report |chapter-url=http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec3_1.html |title=Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General (US) |chapter=Chapter 4 |access-date=2007-12-29}}</ref> |
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Heilbrunn G, Weil A. Pathologic changes in the central nervous in experimental electric shock. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 1942; 47: 918. |
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In one of the few jurisdictions where recent statistics on ECT usage are available, a national audit of ECT by the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network indicated that 77% of patients who received the treatment in 2008 were capable of giving informed consent.<ref name="SEAN">{{cite web|url=http://www.sean.org.uk/SEANReport2009.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429104912/http://www.sean.org.uk/SEANReport2009.pdf |archive-date=2011-04-29 |url-status=live |title=The Scottish ECT Accreditation Network (SEÁN) Annual Report 2009 |year=2009 |website=Scottish ECT Accreditation Network |veditors=Fergusson G, etal |access-date=2010-05-24}}</ref> |
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Ferraro A, Roizin L, Helfand M. Morphologic changes in the brains of monkeys following convulsions electrically induced. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology 1946; 5: 285. |
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In the UK, in order for consent to be valid it requires an explanation in "broad terms" of the nature of the procedure and its likely effects.<ref>Jones, R (1996) ''Mental Health Act Manual'', 5th edition. London: Sweet and Maxwell, p. 225.</ref> One review from 2005 found that only about half of patients felt they were given sufficient information about ECT and its adverse effects<ref name="Information, consent and perceived coercion">Rose D, Wykes T, Bindman J, Fleischmann P (2005)[http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/186/1/54 "Information, consent and perceived coercion: patients' perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy"]. ''[[British Journal of Psychiatry]]'' '''186''':54–59.</ref> and another survey found that about fifty percent of psychiatrists and nurses agreed with them.<ref name="Lutchman">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/09638230124779 | vauthors = Lutchman RD | year = 2001 | title = Mental health professionals' attitudes towards and knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy | journal = Journal of Mental Health | volume = 10 | issue = 20| pages = 141–150 | s2cid = 218906587 | display-authors= etal }}</ref> |
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Ferraro A, Roizin L. Cerebral morphologic changes in monkeys subjected to a large number of electrically induced convulsions. American Journal of Psychiatry 1949; 106: 278. |
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A 2005 study published in the ''[[British Journal of Psychiatry]]'' described patients' perspectives on the adequacy of informed consent before ECT.<ref name="Information, consent and perceived coercion"/> The study found that "About half (45–55%) of patients reported they were given an adequate explanation of ECT, implying a similar percentage felt they were not." The authors also stated: |
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Hartelius H. Cerebral changes following electrically induced convulsions. Acta Psychiatrica & Neurologica Supplement 1952; 77. |
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{{Blockquote|sign=|source=|Approximately a third did not feel they had freely consented to ECT even when they had signed a consent form. The proportion who feel they did not freely choose the treatment has actually increased over time. The same themes arise whether the patient had received treatment a year ago or 30 years ago. Neither current nor proposed safeguards for patients are sufficient to ensure informed consent with respect to ECT, at least in England and Wales.<ref name="Information, consent and perceived coercion" />}} |
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==== Involuntary ECT ==== |
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Procedures for involuntary ECT vary from country to country depending on local [[mental health law]]s. |
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=====United States===== |
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In most states in the US, a judicial order following a formal hearing is needed before a patient can be forced to undergo involuntary ECT.<ref name="SG"/> However, ECT can also be involuntarily administered in situations with less immediate danger. Suicidal intent is a common justification for its involuntary use, especially when other treatments are ineffective.<ref name="SG"/> |
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In 2007, a psychiatric patient in the [[Creedmoor Psychiatric Center]] in New York, given the pseudonym of [[Simone D.]], won a court ruling which set aside a two-year-old court order to give her electroshock treatment against her will.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-abuse/electroshock/simone-d |title= MindFreedom, article title Another victory against forced electroshock. Simone D. wins!|work=MFIPortal |date= 7 July 2007|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> |
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=====United Kingdom===== |
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Until 2007 in England and Wales, the [[Mental Health Act 1983]] allowed the use of ECT on detained patients whether or not they had [[capacity (law)|capacity]] to consent to it. However, following [[Mental Health Act 2007|amendments]] which took effect in 2007, ECT may not generally be given to a patient who has capacity and refuses it, irrespective of his or her detention under the Act.<ref>[http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/mental_health_act_1983_201107084458_0.pdf The Mental Health Act 1983 (updated version)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226033633/http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/mental_health_act_1983_201107084458_0.pdf |date=December 26, 2011 }} Part IV, Section 58. [[Care Quality Commission]]</ref> In fact, even if a patient is deemed to lack capacity, if they made a valid [[Advance health care directive|advance decision]] refusing ECT then they should not be given it; and even if they do not have an advance decision, the psychiatrist must obtain an independent second opinion (which is also the case if the patient is under age of consent).<ref>Care Quality Commission (2010) [http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/20120821_mha_ect_booklet_final.pdf ECT: Your rights about consent to treatment]</ref> However, there is an exception regardless of consent and capacity; under Section 62 of the Act, if the treating psychiatrist says the need for treatment is urgent they may start a course of ECT without authorization.<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140509205937/http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/20120821_mha_ect_booklet_final.pdf The Mental Health Act 1983 (updated version)] Part IV, Section 62. [[Care Quality Commission]]</ref> From 2003 to 2005, about 2,000 people a year in England and Wales were treated without their consent under the Mental Health Act.<ref>The Mental Health Act Commission (2005) ''In Place of Fear? eleventh biennial report, 2003–2005'', 236. The Stationery Office.</ref> Concerns have been raised by the official regulator that psychiatrists are too readily assuming that patients have the capacity to consent to their treatments, and that there is a worrying lack of independent [[advocacy]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/cqc-says-care-people-treated-under-mental-health-act-still-needs-improve | title=CQC says care for people treated under the Mental Health Act still needs to improve | publisher=Care Quality Commission | date=8 December 2011 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521120334/http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/cqc-says-care-people-treated-under-mental-health-act-still-needs-improve | archive-date=21 May 2015 }}</ref> In Scotland, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 also gives patients with capacity the right to refuse ECT.<ref>The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, Part 16, sections 237–239.</ref> |
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==== Regulation ==== |
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In the US, ECT devices came into existence prior to medical devices being regulated by the [[Food and Drug Administration]]. In 1976, the [[Medical Device Regulation Act]] required the FDA to retrospectively review already existing devices, classify them, and determine whether clinical trials were needed to prove efficacy and safety. The FDA initially classified the devices used to administer ECT as [[Medical devices#Class III: General controls, Special Controls and premarket approval|Class III medical devices]]. In 2014, the [[American Psychiatric Association]] petitioned the FDA to reclassify ECT devices from Class III (high-risk) to Class II (medium-risk). A similar reclassification proposal in 2010 did not pass.<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Levin S, Binder R |title=Time Is Now to Support the ECT Reclassification Effort|url=https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2016/01/time-is-now-to-support-the-ect-reclassification-effort|website=American Psychiatric Association|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref> In 2018, the FDA re-classified ECT devices as Class II devices when used to treat catatonia or a severe major depressive episode associated with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.<ref name=":1"/> |
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==== By country ==== |
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===== Australia ===== |
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In [[Western Australia]], ECT has been heavily restricted since 2014, after a bill passed with bipartisan support introducing restrictions on ECT, which were welcomed by mental health experts. Children under 14 are prohibited from receiving ECT, while those aged 14 to 18 must have informed consent approval from the Mental Health Tribunal. The law imposes a $15,000 fine on anyone who performs ECT on a child under the age of 14.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-17/mental-health-bill-passes-wa-parliament/5822874 | title=Electroshock therapy on under-14s banned in WA after law passes | newspaper=ABC News | date=17 October 2014 }}</ref> |
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Similarly, ECT is also banned on children under the age of 12 in the [[Australian Capital Territory]] (ACT).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cchr.org.au/brutal-rise-in-electroshock | title=Brutal Rise in Electroshock | date=4 December 2017 }}</ref> |
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===== United States ===== |
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Many mental health facilities offer ECT for specific diagnoses, such as [[chronic depression]], [[mania]], [[catatonia]] and [[schizophrenia]]. However, ECT is often only used as a treatment of last resort.<ref>{{cite web |title=Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Service {{!}} Treatment at McLean Hospital |url=https://www.mcleanhospital.org/treatment/ect-service |website=www.mcleanhospital.org}}</ref> To be considered for ECT, often testing such as an EKG and lab tests are required, in addition to a physical and neurological exam. Certain medications and conditions, such as cardiac conditions or hypertension, may disqualify a patient from ECT. Patients should give proper informed consent before ECT is performed. In the United States, ECT is performed under general anesthesia. Both trained health professionals with experience in ECT administration as well as a specifically trained and certified anesthesiologist should administer the procedure and anesthesia respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title=Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) |url=https://www.mhanational.org/ect#:~:text=Because%20of%20the%20concern%20about,ECT%20in%20severely%20depressed%20patients. |website=Mental Health America |language=en}}</ref> |
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=== Public perception === |
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A questionnaire survey of 379 members of the general public in [[Australia]] indicated that more than 60% of respondents had some knowledge about the main aspects of ECT. Participants were generally opposed to the use of ECT on depressed individuals with psychosocial issues, on children, and on involuntary patients. Public perceptions of ECT were found to be mainly negative.<ref name=Teh>{{cite journal | vauthors = Teh SP, Helmes E, Drake DG | title = A Western Australian survey on public attitudes toward and knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy | journal = The International Journal of Social Psychiatry | volume = 53 | issue = 3 | pages = 247–273 | date = May 2007 | pmid = 17569409 | doi = 10.1177/0020764006074522 | s2cid = 40147979 }}</ref> A sample of the general public, [[MBBS|medical students]], and [[MRCPsych|psychiatry]] trainees in the [[United Kingdom]] found that the psychiatry trainees were more knowledgeable and had more favorable opinions of ECT than did the other groups.<ref name="McFarquhar et al 2008">{{cite journal | vauthors = McFarquhar TF, Thompson J | title = Knowledge and attitudes regarding electroconvulsive therapy among medical students and the general public | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 24 | issue = 4 | pages = 244–253 | date = December 2008 | pmid = 18648319 | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0b013e318168be4a | s2cid = 11334694 }}</ref> More members of the general public believed that ECT was used for control or punishment purposes than medical students or psychiatry trainees.<ref name="McFarquhar et al 2008" /> |
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===Famous cases=== |
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{{Main|List of people who have undergone electroconvulsive therapy}} |
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* [[Ernest Hemingway]], an American author, died by suicide in 1961 half a year after ECT treatment at the [[Mayo Clinic]] in 1960.<ref>[[Jeffrey Meyers|Meyers, Jeffrey]]. (1985). ''Hemingway: A Biography''. New York: Macmillan, pp 547–550. {{ISBN|978-0-333-42126-0}}.</ref> He is reported to have said to his biographer, "Well, what is the sense of ruining my head and erasing my memory, which is my capital, and putting me out of business? It was a brilliant cure but we lost the patient."<ref>[[A. E. Hotchner]], ''Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir'', {{ISBN|0786705922}}; p. 280</ref> However, the same biographer ([[A. E. Hotchner|Hotchner]], 1966) and also a second biographer ([[Kenneth S. Lynn|Lynn]], 1987) emphasized - according to a review from 2008 - "that Hemingway’s serious mental illness and plans for suicide significantly predated his ECT treatments."<ref name="pmid18196545">{{cite journal| author=Hirshbein L, Sarvananda S| title=History, power, and electricity: American popular magazine accounts of electroconvulsive therapy, 1940-2005. | journal=J Hist Behav Sci | year= 2008 | volume= 44 | issue= 1 | pages= 1–18 | pmid=18196545 | doi=10.1002/jhbs.20283 | pmc= | hdl=2027.42/57903 | url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/57903/20283_ftp.pdf }}</ref> |
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* [[Robert Pirsig]] had a nervous breakdown and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals between 1961 and 1963.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://allaboutheaven.org/sources/pirsig-robert-m/190|title=All About Heaven \e|website=allaboutheaven.org|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref> He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and clinical depression as a result of an evaluation conducted by psychoanalysts, and was treated with electroconvulsive therapy on numerous occasions,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Summary and Analysis of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values|last=Worth Books|publisher=Open Road Media|year=2017|isbn=978-1-5040-4641-1}}</ref> a treatment he discusses in his novel, ''[[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Healy D, Charlton BG | title = Electroshock in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance--fictional, not factual | journal = Medical Hypotheses | volume = 72 | issue = 5 | pages = 485–486 | date = May 2009 | pmid = 19201545 | doi = 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.12.026 }}</ref> |
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* [[Thomas Eagleton]], [[United States Senator]] from [[Missouri]], was dropped from the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic ticket]] in the [[1972 United States Presidential Election]] as the party's vice presidential candidate after it was revealed that he had received electroshock treatment in the past for depression.<ref>{{Cite web |title=50 years ago: Sen.Thomas Eagleton discloses electric shock treatments and changes a presidential campaign |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/archives/50-years-ago-sen-thomas-eagleton-discloses-electric-shock-treatments-and-changes-a-presidential-campaign/article_09e6dadc-7531-5553-8e9b-e3f07870fea1.html |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=STLtoday.com |language=en}}</ref> Presidential nominee [[George McGovern]] replaced him with [[Sargent Shriver]], and later went on to lose by a landslide to [[Richard Nixon]]. |
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* American surgeon and award-winning author [[Sherwin B. Nuland]] is another notable person who has undergone ECT.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_therapy/transcript?language=en |title=Sherwin Nuland: How electroshock therapy changed me | Talk Subtitles and Transcript |date=30 October 2007 |publisher=TED.com |access-date=2015-05-19}}</ref> In his 40s, his depression became so severe that he had to be institutionalized. After exhausting all treatment options, a young resident assigned to his case suggested ECT, which was successful.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/us/sherwin-b-nuland-author-who-challenged-concept-of-dignified-death-dies-at-83.html | title=Sherwin B. Nuland, Author of 'How We Die,' is Dead at 83| newspaper=The New York Times| date=2014-03-04| vauthors = Gellene D }}</ref> |
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* Author [[David Foster Wallace]] also received ECT for many years, beginning as a teenager, before his suicide at age 46.<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine | title = The Lost Years & Last Days of David Foster Wallace | magazine = Rolling Stone |author = Lipsky, Dave |date = October 30, 2008 | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23638511/the_lost_years__last_days_of_david_foster_wallace | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090503103755/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23638511/the_lost_years__last_days_of_david_foster_wallace| archive-date = May 3, 2009| url-status = dead | access-date = June 5, 2017}}</ref> |
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* New Zealand author [[Janet Frame]] experienced both insulin coma therapy and ECT (but without the use of anesthesia or muscle relaxants).<ref name="Lim et al 2019">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lim X, Galletly C | title = "To ''suit'' the occasion, I wore my schizophrenic fancy dress"<sup>1</sup> - the life of Janet Frame | journal = Australasian Psychiatry | volume = 27 | issue = 5 | pages = 469–471 | date = October 2019 | pmid = 30945930 | doi = 10.1177/1039856219839489 | s2cid = 93000402 }}</ref> She wrote about this in her autobiography, ''[[An Angel at My Table]]'' (1984),<ref name="Lim et al 2019" /> which was later adapted into a film (1990).<ref name="NYT 1991 C15">{{cite news |title=Review/Film; 3 Novels Are Adapted For 'Angel at My Table' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/21/movies/review-film-3-novels-are-adapted-for-angel-at-my-table.html |access-date=10 July 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=21 May 1991 |at=Section C, p. 15}}</ref> |
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* American actor [[Carrie Fisher]] wrote about her experience with memory loss after ECT treatments in her memoir ''[[Wishful Drinking]].''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wishful Drinking with Carrie Fisher|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/98339223|website=NPR}}</ref> |
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* [[Lou Reed]] had ECT as a teenager to "cure" his homosexuality.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Weiner |first=Jeff |date=2016-04-10 |title=Lou Reed's Sister Sets the Record Straight About His Childhood |url=https://medium.com/cuepoint/a-family-in-peril-lou-reed-s-sister-sets-the-record-straight-about-his-childhood-20e8399f84a3 |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Cuepoint |language=en}}</ref> He later claimed it had induced multiple personality disorder, and resulted in his hatred of psychiatrists.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McNeil |first1=Legs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkG7Y6_J7pUC |title=Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk |last2=McCain |first2=Gillian |date=2006 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0-8021-4264-1 |language=en}}</ref> After Reed's death, his sister denied the ECT treatments were intended to suppress his "homosexual urges", asserting that their parents were not [[Homophobia|homophobic]] but had been told by his doctors that ECT was necessary to treat Reed's mental and behavioral issues.<ref name=":3" /> |
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* On October 31, 2024, a Chinese transgender woman was approved by Changli county people’s court in [[Qinhuangdao]] to receive 60,000 yuan (£6,552) in compensation from a hospital that gave her electroshock conversion treatment against her will. This was the first time any transgender person in China won a legal challenge against the use of electroshock conversion treatment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/21/transgender-woman-wins-record-payout-in-china-after-electroshock-treatment|title=Transgender woman wins record payout in China after electroshock treatment|first1=Amy|last1=Hawkins|date=November 21, 2024|via=The Guardian}}</ref> |
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===Fictional examples=== |
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Electroconvulsive therapy has been depicted in fiction, including fictional works partly based on true experiences. These include [[Sylvia Plath]]'s semi-autobiographical novel, ''[[The Bell Jar]]'', [[Ken Loach]]'s film [[Family Life (1971 British film)|''Family Life'']], and [[Ken Kesey]]'s novel ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]''; Kesey's novel is a direct product of his time working the [[Shift plan#Graveyard shift|graveyard shift]] as an orderly at a mental health facility in Menlo Park, California.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Kellner |first=C.H. |title=Literature, Neurology, and Neuroscience: Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders |chapter=Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in Literature |journal=Prog. Brain Res. |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-444-63364-4 |series=Progress in Brain Research |volume=206 |pages=219–228 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-444-63364-4.00029-6 |pmid=24290484}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=David T. |last2=Snyder |first2=Sharon L. |title=Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse |date=2000 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-06748-0 |page=174 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwyUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Two analyses of large numbers of films using ECT scenes found that almost all presented fictional settings that were unrelated to real treatment routines and were apparently aimed at stigmatizing ECT as a tool of repression and of mind and behavior control - having effects of memory-erosion, pain and damage.<ref name="pmid27522170">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sienaert P | title = Based on a True Story? The Portrayal of ECT in International Movies and Television Programs | journal = Brain Stimulation | volume = 9 | issue = 6 | pages = 882–891 | year = 2016 | pmid = 27522170 | pmc = | doi = 10.1016/j.brs.2016.07.005 | s2cid = 206356310 }}</ref><ref name="pmid27008331">{{cite journal | vauthors = Matthews AM, Rosenquist PB, McCall WV | title = Representations of ECT in English-Language Film and Television in the New Millennium | journal = The Journal of ECT | volume = 32 | issue = 3 | pages = 187–191 | date = September 2016 | pmid = 27008331 | pmc = | doi = 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000312 | s2cid = 206144447 }}</ref> |
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The song “The Mind Electric” by [[Miracle Musical]] is typically interpreted as depicting someone undergoing ECT.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-16 |title=Electroconvulsive Therapy Is Torture |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ElectroconvulsiveTherapyIsTorture |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=TV Tropes}}</ref> |
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In the television series "[[Mr Bates vs The Post Office]]", which is based on true events, the character of Saman Kaur receives ECT following a deep [[Depression (mood)|depression]] and attempted [[suicide]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Real People and Cast of Mr Bates vs The Post Office |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/the-real-people-and-cast-of-mr-bates-vs-the-post-office/ |website=Masterpiece |publisher=PBS |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> |
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== See also == |
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{{Portal|Psychiatry}} |
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* [[Neurostimulation]] |
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* [[Psychosurgery]] |
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* [[Transcranial magnetic stimulation]] |
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* [[Magnetic seizure therapy]] |
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== References == |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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{{Commons category|Electroconvulsive therapy}} |
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* [http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/6608 CCHR.org] - 'Electroshock (ECT) and [[Psychosurgery]]', [[Citizens Commission on Human Rights]] |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161104141708/https://www.psychiatry.org/file%20library/about-apa/organization-documents-policies/policies/position-2015-electroconvulsive-therapy.pdf Position Statement on Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 2015] – from the [[American Psychiatric Association]]. |
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* [http://www.ect.org/effects.shtml ECT.org] - 'Effects of ECT' (criticism site) |
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* [https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/ect ECT] – information from mental health charity The Royal College of Psychiatrists |
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* [http://consensus.nih.gov/1985/1985ElectroconvulsiveTherapy051html.htm NIH.gov] - 'Consensus Development Conference Statement', [[National Institutes of Health]] (June 10-12, 1985) |
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* [http://www.psych.org/research/apire/training_fund/clin_res/index.cfm Psych.org] - 'Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)', [[American Psychiatric Association]] |
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{{Authority control}} |
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* [http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec3_1.html#treatment Surgeon General.gov] - 'Mental Health: a report of the Surgeon General: Treatment of Mood Disorders', [[Surgeon General of the United States]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Electroconvulsive Therapy}} |
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[[Category:Psychiatric treatments]] |
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[[Category:Electroconvulsive therapy| ]] |
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[[da:ECT]] |
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[[Category:Human subject research in psychiatry]] |
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[[de:Elektrokrampftherapie]] |
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[[Category:Psychiatry controversies]] |
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[[fi:Sähköhoito]] |
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[[Category:Neurotechnology]] |
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[[it:Terapia elettroconvulsivante]] |
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[[Category:Physical psychiatric treatments]] |
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[[nl:Elektroconvulsieve therapie]] |
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[[Category:Treatment of bipolar disorder]] |
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[[no:Elektrokonvulsiv terapi]] |
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[[Category:Treatment of depression]] |
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[[sv:ECT]] |
Latest revision as of 05:04, 4 January 2025
Electroconvulsive therapy | |
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Other names | Electroshock therapy |
ICD-10-PCS | GZB |
ICD-9-CM | 94.27 |
MeSH | D004565 |
OPS-301 code | 8-630 |
MedlinePlus | 007474 |
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or electroshock therapy (EST) is a psychiatric treatment during which a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.[1] Typically, 70 to 120 volts are applied externally to the patient's head, resulting in approximately 800 milliamperes of direct current passing between the electrodes, for a duration of 100 milliseconds to 6 seconds, either from temple to temple (bilateral ECT) or from front to back of one side of the head (unilateral ECT). However, only about 1% of the electrical current crosses the bony skull into the brain because skull impedance is about 100 times higher than skin impedance.[2]
Aside from effects on the brain, the general physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief general anesthesia.[3]: 259 Immediately following treatment, the most common adverse effects are confusion and transient memory loss.[4][5] Among treatments for severely depressed pregnant women, ECT is one of the least harmful to the fetus.[6]
ECT is often used as an intervention for major depressive disorder, mania, autism, and catatonia.[4] The usual course of ECT involves multiple administrations, typically given two or three times per week until the patient no longer has symptoms. ECT is administered under anesthesia with a muscle relaxant.[7] ECT can differ in its application in three ways: electrode placement, treatment frequency, and the electrical waveform of the stimulus. These treatment parameters can pose significant differences in both adverse side effects and symptom remission in the treated patient.
Placement can be bilateral, where the electric current is passed from one side of the brain to the other, or unilateral, in which the current is solely passed across one hemisphere of the brain. High-dose unilateral ECT has some cognitive advantages compared to moderate-dose bilateral ECT while showing no difference in antidepressant efficacy.[8]
History
[edit]As early as the 16th century, agents to induce seizures were used to treat psychiatric conditions. In 1785, the therapeutic use of seizure induction was documented in the London Medical and Surgical Journal.[1][9] As to its earliest antecedents one doctor claims 1744 as the dawn of electricity's therapeutic use, as documented in the first issue of Electricity and Medicine. Treatment and cure of hysterical blindness was documented eleven years later. Benjamin Franklin wrote that an electrostatic machine cured "a woman of hysterical fits." By 1801, James Lind[10] as well as Giovanni Aldini had used galvanism to treat patients with various mental disorders.[11] G.B.C. Duchenne, the mid-19th century "Father of Electrotherapy", said its use was integral to a neurological practice.[12]
In the second half of the 19th century, such efforts were frequent enough in British asylums as to make it notable.[13]
Convulsive therapy was introduced in 1934 by Hungarian neuropsychiatrist Ladislas J. Meduna who, believing mistakenly that schizophrenia and epilepsy were antagonistic disorders, induced seizures first with camphor and then metrazol (cardiazol).[14][15] Meduna is thought to be the father of convulsive therapy.[16]
In 1937, the first international meeting on schizophrenia and convulsive therapy was held in Switzerland by the Swiss psychiatrist Max Müller.[17] The proceedings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and, within three years, cardiazol convulsive therapy was being used worldwide.[15]
The ECT procedure was first conducted in 1938 by Italian neuro-psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti[18] and rapidly replaced less safe and effective forms of biological treatments in use at the time. Cerletti, who had been using electric shocks to produce seizures in animal experiments, and his assistant Lucio Bini at Sapienza University of Rome developed the idea of using electricity as a substitute for metrazol in convulsive therapy and, in 1938, experimented for the first time on a person affected by delusions.
It was believed early on that inducing convulsions aided in helping those with severe schizophrenia but later found to be most useful with affective disorders such as depression. Cerletti had noted a shock to the head produced convulsions in dogs. The idea to use electroshock on humans came to Cerletti when he saw how pigs were given an electric shock before being butchered to put them in an anesthetized state.[19] Cerletti and Bini practiced until they felt they had the right parameters needed to have a successful human trial. Once they started trials on patients, they found that after 10–20 treatments the results were significant. Patients had much improved.
A positive side effect to the treatment was retrograde amnesia. It was because of this side effect that patients could not remember the treatments and had no ill feelings toward it.[19]
ECT soon replaced metrazol therapy all over the world because it was cheaper, less frightening and more convenient.[20] Cerletti and Bini were nominated for a Nobel Prize but did not receive one. By 1940, the procedure was introduced to both England and the US. In Germany and Austria, it was promoted by Friedrich Meggendorfer. Through the 1940s and 1950s, the use of ECT became widespread. At the time the ECT device was patented and commercialized abroad, the two Italian inventors had competitive tensions that damaged their relationship.[21] In the 1960s, despite a climate of condemnation, the original Cerletti-Bini ECT apparatus prototype was contended by scientific museums between Italy and the US.[22] The ECT apparatus prototype is now owned and displayed by the Sapienza Museum of the History of Medicine in Rome.[22]
In the early 1940s, in an attempt to reduce the memory disturbance and confusion associated with treatment, two modifications were introduced: the use of unilateral electrode placement and the replacement of sinusoidal current with brief pulse. It took many years for brief-pulse equipment to be widely adopted.[23]
In the 1940s and early 1950s, ECT was usually given in an "unmodified" form, without muscle relaxants, and the seizure resulted in a full-scale convulsion. A rare but serious complication of unmodified ECT was fracture or dislocation of the long bones. In the 1940s, psychiatrists began to experiment with curare, the muscle-paralysing South American poison, in order to modify the convulsions. The introduction of suxamethonium (succinylcholine), a safer synthetic alternative to curare, in 1951 led to the more widespread use of "modified" ECT. A short-acting anesthetic was usually given in addition to the muscle relaxant in order to spare patients the terrifying feeling of suffocation that can be experienced with muscle relaxants.[23]
The steady growth of antidepressant use along with negative depictions of ECT in the mass media led to a marked decline in the use of ECT during the 1950s to the 1970s. The Surgeon General stated there were problems with electroshock therapy in the initial years before anesthesia was routinely given, and that "these now-antiquated practices contributed to the negative portrayal of ECT in the popular media."[24] The New York Times described the public's negative perception of ECT as being caused mainly by one movie: "For Big Nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it was a tool of terror, and, in the public mind, shock therapy has retained the tarnished image given it by Ken Kesey's novel: dangerous, inhumane and overused".[25]
In 1976, Dr. Blatchley demonstrated the effectiveness of his constant current, brief pulse device ECT. This device eventually largely replaced earlier devices because of the reduction in cognitive side effects, although as of 2012 some ECT clinics still were using sine-wave devices.[26]
The 1970s saw the publication of the first American Psychiatric Association (APA) task force report on electroconvulsive therapy (to be followed by further reports in 1990 and 2001). The report endorsed the use of ECT in the treatment of depression. The decade also saw criticism of ECT.[27] Specifically, critics pointed to shortcomings such as noted side effects, the procedure being used as a form of abuse, and uneven application of ECT. The use of ECT declined until the 1980s, "when use began to increase amid growing awareness of its benefits and cost-effectiveness for treating severe depression".[24] In 1985, the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institutes of Health convened a consensus development conference on ECT and concluded that, while ECT was the most controversial treatment in psychiatry and had significant side-effects, it had been shown to be effective for a narrow range of severe psychiatric disorders.[28]
Because of the backlash noted previously, national institutions reviewed past practices and set new standards. In 1978, the American Psychiatric Association released its first task force report in which new standards for consent were introduced and the use of unilateral electrode placement was recommended. The 1985 NIMH Consensus Conference confirmed the therapeutic role of ECT in certain circumstances. The American Psychiatric Association released its second task force report in 1990 where specific details on the delivery, education, and training of ECT were documented. Finally, in 2001 the American Psychiatric Association released its latest task force report.[5] This report emphasizes the importance of informed consent, and the expanded role that the procedure has in modern medicine. By 2017, ECT was routinely covered by insurance companies for providing the "biggest bang for the buck" for otherwise intractable cases of severe mental illness, was receiving favorable media coverage, and was being provided in regional medical centers.[29]
Though ECT use declined with the advent of modern antidepressants, there has been a resurgence of ECT with new modern technologies and techniques.[30] Modern shock voltage is given for a shorter duration of 0.5 milliseconds where conventional brief pulse is 1.5 milliseconds.[31]
In a review from 2022 of neuroimaging studies based on a global data collaboration ECT was suggested to work via a temporary disruption of neural circuits followed by augmented neuroplasticity and rewiring.[32]
Modern use
[edit]ECT is used, where possible, with informed consent[33] in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, treatment-resistant catatonia, prolonged or severe mania, and in conditions where "there is a need for rapid, definitive response because of the severity of a psychiatric or medical condition (e.g., when illness is characterized by suicidality, psychosis, stupor, marked psychomotor retardation, depressive delusions or hallucinations, or life-threatening physical exhaustion associated with mania)."[4][34][35] It has also been used to treat autism in adults with an intellectual disability, yet findings from a systematic review found this an unestablished intervention.[36]
Major depressive disorder
[edit]For major depressive disorder, despite a Canadian guideline and some experts arguing for using ECT as a first line treatment,[37][38][39] ECT is generally used only when one or other treatments have failed, or in emergencies, such as imminent suicide.[4][40][41] ECT has also been used in selected cases of depression occurring in the setting of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, developmental delay, brain arteriovenous malformations, and hydrocephalus.[42]
Efficacy
[edit]A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of ECT in unipolar and bipolar depression indicated that although patients with unipolar depression and bipolar depression responded to other medical treatments very differently, both groups responded equally well to ECT. Overall remission rate for patients given a round of ECT treatment was 50.9% for those with unipolar depression and 53.2% for those with bipolar depression. Most severely depressed patients respond to ECT.[43]
In 2004, a meta-analysis found in terms of efficacy, "a significant superiority of ECT in all comparisons: ECT versus simulated ECT, ECT versus placebo, ECT versus antidepressants in general, ECT versus tricyclics and ECT versus monoamine oxidase inhibitors."[44]
In 2003, The UK ECT Review Group published a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing ECT to placebo and antidepressant drugs. This meta-analysis demonstrated a large effect size (high efficacy relative to the mean in terms of the standard deviation) for ECT versus placebo, and versus antidepressant drugs.[45]
Compared with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for people with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, ECT relieves depression as shown by reducing the score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression by about 15 points, while rTMS reduced it by 9 points.[46]
Other estimates regarding the response rate in treatment resistant depression vary between 60–80%, with a remission rate of 50–60%.[35] In addition to reducing symptoms of depression and inducing relapse, ECT has also been shown to reduce the risk of suicide, improve functional outcomes and quality of life as well as reduce the risk of re-hospitalization.[35] Efficacy does not depend on depression subtype.[38] With regards to treatment resistant schizophrenia, the response rate is 40–70%.[35]
Follow-up
[edit]There is little agreement on the most appropriate follow-up to ECT for people with major depressive disorder.[47] The initial course of ECT is then transitioned to maintenance ECT, pharmacotherapy or both. When ECT is stopped abruptly, without a bridge to maintenance ECT or medications (usually antidepressants and Lithium), it is associated with a relapse rate of 84%.[35] There is no defined schedule for maintenance ECT, however it is usually started weekly with intervals extended permissibly with the goal of maintaining remission.[35] When ECT is followed by treatment with antidepressants, about 50% of people relapsed by 12 months following successful initial treatment with ECT, with about 37% relapsing within the first 6 months. About twice as many relapsed with no antidepressants. Most of the evidence for continuation therapy is with tricyclic antidepressants; evidence for relapse prevention with newer antidepressants is lacking.[47] Adjunct maintenance ECT paired with cognitive behavioral therapy has also been shown to reduce relapse rates.[35] Maintenance ECT may safely continue indefinitely, with no set maximum treatment interval established.[35]
Lithium has also been found to reduce the risk of relapse, especially in younger patients.[48]
Catatonia
[edit]ECT is generally a second-line treatment for people with catatonia who do not respond to other treatments, but is a first-line treatment for severe or life-threatening catatonia.[4][49][50] There is a plethora of evidence for its efficacy, notwithstanding a lack of randomised controlled trials, such that "the excellent efficacy of ECT in catatonia is generally acknowledged".[49] For people with autism spectrum disorders who have catatonia, there is little published evidence about the efficacy of ECT.[51]
Mania
[edit]ECT is used to treat people who have severe or prolonged mania;[4] NICE recommends it only in life-threatening situations or when other treatments have failed[52] and as a second-line treatment for bipolar mania.[53][54]
Schizophrenia
[edit]ECT is widely used worldwide in the treatment of schizophrenia, but in North America and Western Europe it is invariably used only in treatment resistant schizophrenia when symptoms show little response to antipsychotics; there is comprehensive research evidence for such practice.[55] It is useful in the case of severe exacerbations of catatonic schizophrenia, whether excited or stuporous.[4][52] There are also case reports of ECT improving persistent psychotic symptoms associated with stimulant-induced psychosis.[56][57]
Effects and adverse effects
[edit]Aside from effects in the brain, the general physical risks of ECT are similar to those of brief general anesthesia; the US Surgeon General's report says that there are "no absolute health contraindications" to its use.[3]: 259 Immediately following treatment, the most common adverse effects are confusion and memory loss. Some patients experience muscle soreness after ECT. Other common adverse effects after ECT include headache, jaw soreness, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. These side effects are transient and respond to treatment.[35] There is evidence and rationale to support giving low doses of benzodiazepines or otherwise low doses of general anesthetics, which induce sedation but not anesthesia, to patients to reduce adverse effects of ECT.[58]
While there are no absolute contraindications for ECT, there is increased risk for patients who have unstable or severe cardiovascular conditions or aneurysms; who have recently had a stroke; who have increased intracranial pressure (for instance, due to a solid brain tumor), or who have severe pulmonary conditions, or who are generally at high risk for receiving anesthesia.[5]: 30
In adolescents, ECT is highly efficient for several psychiatric disorders, with few and relatively benign adverse effects.[59][60][61]
Risk of death
[edit]A meta-analysis from 2017 found that the death rate of ECT was around 2.1 per 100,000 procedures.[62] A review from 2011 reported an estimate of the mortality rate associated with ECT as less than 1 death per 73,440 treatments.[63]
Cognitive impairment
[edit]Cognitive impairment sometimes occurs after ECT.[64][65][66][67] The American Psychiatric Association (APA) report in 2001 acknowledges: "In some patients the recovery from retrograde amnesia will be incomplete, and evidence has shown that ECT can result in persistent or permanent memory loss".[5] It is the purported effects of ECT on long-term memory that give rise to much of the concern surrounding its use.[68] However, the methods used to measure memory loss are non-specific, and their application to people with depressive disorders, who have cognitive deficits related to the depression, including problems with memory, may further limit their utility.[69]
The acute effects of ECT can include amnesia, both retrograde (for events occurring before the treatment) and anterograde (for events occurring after the treatment).[70] Memory loss and confusion are more pronounced with bilateral electrode placement rather than unilateral, and with outdated sine-wave rather than brief-pulse currents. The use of either constant or pulsing electrical impulses also varied the memory loss results in patients. Patients who received pulsing electrical impulses, as opposed to a steady flow, seemed to incur less memory loss. The vast majority of modern treatment uses brief pulse currents.[70] A greater number of treatments and higher electrical charges (stimulus charges) have also been associated with a greater risk of memory impairment.[35]
Retrograde amnesia is most marked for events occurring in the weeks or months before treatment. Anterograde memory loss usually resolves 2–4 weeks after treatment, whereas retrograde amnesia (which develops gradually after repeated treatments in the initial course) usually takes weeks to months to resolve, and amnesia rarely persist for more than 1 year.[35] Retrograde amnesia after ECT usually affects autobiographical memory, rather than semantic memory.[35] One published review summarizing the results of questionnaires about subjective memory loss found that between 29% and 55% of respondents believed they experienced long-lasting or permanent memory changes.[71] In 2000, American psychiatrist Sarah Lisanby and colleagues found that bilateral ECT left patients with more persistently impaired memory of public events as compared to right unilateral ECT.[68] However, bilateral ECT may be more efficacious than unilateral in the treatment of mood disorders.[35]
ECT has not been found to increase the risk of dementia nor cause structural brain damage.[72][35]
Effects on brain structure
[edit]Considerable controversy exists over the effects of ECT on brain tissue, although a number of mental health associations—including the APA—have concluded that there is no evidence that ECT causes structural brain damage.[5][41] A 1999 report by the US Surgeon General states: "The fears that ECT causes gross structural brain pathology have not been supported by decades of methodologically sound research in both humans and animals."[73]
Many expert proponents of ECT maintain that the procedure is safe and does not cause brain damage. Dr. Charles Kellner, a prominent ECT researcher and former chief editor of the Journal of ECT, stated in a 2007 interview that, "There are a number of well-designed studies that show ECT does not cause brain damage and numerous reports of patients who have received a large number of treatments over their lifetime and have suffered no significant problems due to ECT."[74] Kellner cites a study purporting to show an absence of cognitive impairment in eight subjects after more than 100 lifetime ECT treatments.[75] Kellner stated "Rather than cause brain damage, there is evidence that ECT may reverse some of the damaging effects of serious psychiatric illness." Two meta-analyses find that ECT is associated with brain matter growth.[76][77]
Effects in pregnancy
[edit]If steps are taken to decrease potential risks, ECT is generally accepted to be relatively safe during all trimesters of pregnancy, particularly when compared to pharmacological treatments.[6][78] Suggested preparation for ECT during pregnancy includes a pelvic examination, discontinuation of nonessential anticholinergic medication, uterine tocodynamometry, intravenous hydration, and administration of a nonparticulate antacid. During ECT, elevation of the pregnant woman's right hip, external fetal cardiac monitoring, intubation, and avoidance of excessive hyperventilation are recommended.[6] In many instances of active mood disorder during pregnancy, the risks of untreated symptoms may outweigh the risks of ECT. Potential complications of ECT during pregnancy can be minimized by modifications in technique. The use of ECT during pregnancy requires thorough evaluation of the patient's capacity for informed consent.[79]
Effects on the heart
[edit]ECT can cause a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart, heart arrhythmia, and "persistent asystole". A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis of 82 studies found that the rate of major adverse cardiac events with ECT was 1 in 39 patients or about 1 in 200 to 500 procedures.[80][81] The risk of death with ECT however is low.[82][80] If death does occur, cardiovascular complications are considered as causal in about 30% of individuals.[80]
Procedure
[edit]The placement of electrodes, as well as the dose and duration of the stimulation is determined on a per-patient basis.[1]: 1881
In unilateral ECT, both electrodes are placed on the same side of the patient's head. Unilateral ECT may be used first to minimize side effects such as memory loss.
In bilateral ECT, the two electrodes are placed on opposite sides of the head. Usually bitemporal placement is used, whereby the electrodes are placed on the temples. Uncommonly bifrontal placement is used; this involves positioning the electrodes on the patient's forehead, roughly above each eye.
Unilateral ECT is thought to cause fewer cognitive effects than bilateral treatment, but is less effective unless administered at higher doses.[1]: 1881 Most patients in the US[83] and almost all in the UK[84][85][86] receive bilateral ECT.
The electrodes deliver an electrical stimulus. The stimulus levels recommended for ECT are in excess of an individual's seizure threshold: about one and a half times seizure threshold for bilateral ECT and up to 12 times for unilateral ECT.[1]: 1881 Below these levels treatment may not be effective in spite of a seizure, while doses massively above threshold level, especially with bilateral ECT, expose patients to the risk of more severe cognitive impairment without additional therapeutic gains.[87] Seizure threshold is determined by trial and error ("dose titration"). Some psychiatrists use dose titration, some still use "fixed dose" (that is, all patients are given the same dose) and others compromise by roughly estimating a patient's threshold according to age and sex.[83] Older men tend to have higher thresholds than younger women, but it is not a hard and fast rule, and other factors, for example drugs, affect seizure threshold.
Immediately prior to treatment, a patient is given a short-acting anesthetic such as methohexital, propofol, etomidate, or thiopental,[1] a muscle relaxant such as suxamethonium (succinylcholine), and occasionally atropine to inhibit salivation.[1]: 1882 Studies have shown that adding ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, to the anesthesia regimen produced greater decreases in depression scores when compared to propofol, methohexital, and thiopental alone. [88] In a minority of countries such as Japan,[89] India,[90] and Nigeria,[91] ECT may be used without anesthesia. The Union Health Ministry of India recommended a ban on ECT without anesthesia in India's Mental Health Care Bill of 2010 and the Mental Health Care Bill of 2013.[92][93] The practice was abolished in Turkey's largest psychiatric hospital in 2008.[94]
The patient's EEG, ECG, and blood oxygen levels are monitored during treatment.[1]: 1882
ECT is usually administered three times a week, on alternate days, over a course of two to four weeks.[1]: 1882–1883
Neuroimaging prior to ECT
[edit]Neuroimaging prior to ECT may be useful for detecting intracranial pressure or mass given that patients respond less when one of these conditions exist. Nonetheless, it is not indicated due to high cost and low prevalence of these conditions in patients needing ECT.[95]
Concurrent pharmacotherapy
[edit]Whether psychiatric medications are terminated prior to treatment or maintained, varies.[1]: 1885 [96] However, drugs that are known to cause toxicity in combination with ECT, such as lithium, are discontinued, and benzodiazepines, which increase the seizure threshold,[97] are either discontinued, a benzodiazepine antagonist is administered at each ECT session, or the ECT treatment is adjusted accordingly.[1]: 1875, 1879
A 2009 RCT provides some evidence indicating that concurrent use of some antidepressant improves ECT efficacy.[38]
Course
[edit]ECT is usually done from 6 to 12 times in 2 to 4 weeks but can sometimes exceed 12 rounds.[38] It is also recommended to not do ECT more than 3 times per week.[38] Evidence suggest that ECTs for depression may be stopped if there is no improvement during the first six sessions.[98]
Treatment team
[edit]In the US, the medical team performing the procedure typically consists of a psychiatrist, an anesthetist, an ECT treatment nurse or qualified assistant, and one or more recovery nurses.[5]: 109 Medical trainees may assist, but only under the direct supervision of credentialed attending physicians and staff.[5]: 110
Devices
[edit]Most modern ECT devices deliver a brief-pulse current, which is thought to cause fewer cognitive effects than the sine-wave currents which were originally used in ECT.[1] A small minority of psychiatrists in the US still use sine-wave stimuli.[83] Sine-wave is no longer used in the UK or Ireland.[86] Typically, the electrical stimulus used in ECT is about 800 milliamps and has up to several hundred watts, and the current flows for between one and six seconds.[87]
In the US, ECT devices are manufactured by two companies, Somatics, which is owned by psychiatrists Richard Abrams and Conrad Swartz, and Mecta.[99] In the UK, the market for ECT devices was long monopolized by Ectron Ltd, which was set up by psychiatrist Robert Russell.[100]
Mechanism of action
[edit]Despite decades of research, the exact mechanism of action of ECT remains elusive. A review from 2022 of neuroimaging studies based on a global data collaboration resulted in a model of temporary disruption of neural circuits followed by augmented neuroplasticity and rewiring.[32] Other brain changes observed after ECT include increased gray matter volume in the frontolimbic areas including the hippocampus and amygdala, increased white matter tracts in the frontal and temporal lobes, increased monoamine neurotransmitters and increased neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus.[35] Changes in sleep architecture due to the induced seizures have also been hypothesized as a mechanism of action.[101]
Use
[edit]As of 2001, it was estimated that about one million people received ECT annually.[26]
There is wide variation in ECT use between different countries, different hospitals, and different psychiatrists.[1][26] International practice varies considerably from widespread use of the therapy in many Western countries to a small minority of countries that do not use ECT at all, such as Slovenia.[102]
About 70 percent of ECT patients are women.[1] This may be because women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.[1][103] Older and more affluent patients are also more likely to receive ECT. The use of ECT is not as common in ethnic minorities.[103][104]
In Sweden, which has a complete register of all ECT treatments in the country, in 2013 the rate of persons treated in that year per 100,000 inhabitants was 41. Almost the same rate had already been present in 1975 with 42 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.[105][106]
United States
[edit]ECT became popular in the US in the 1940s. At the time, psychiatric hospitals were overrun with patients whom doctors were desperate to treat and cure. Whereas lobotomies would reduce a patient to a more manageable submissive state, ECT helped to improve mood in those with severe depression. A survey of psychiatric practice in the late 1980s found that an estimated 100,000 people received ECT annually, with wide variation between metropolitan statistical areas.[107]
Accurate statistics about the frequency, context and circumstances of ECT in the US are difficult to obtain because only a few states have reporting laws that require the treating facility to supply state authorities with this information.[108] In 13 of the 50 states, the practice of ECT is regulated by law.[109]
In the mid-1990s in Texas, ECT was used in about one third of psychiatric facilities and given to about 1,650 people annually.[103] Usage of ECT has since declined slightly; in 2000–01 ECT was given to about 1,500 people aged from 16 to 97 (in Texas it is illegal to give ECT to anyone under sixteen).[110] ECT is more commonly used in private psychiatric hospitals than in public hospitals, and minority patients are underrepresented in the ECT statistics.[1]
In the United States, ECT is usually given three times a week; in the United Kingdom, it is usually given twice a week.[1] Occasionally it is given on a daily basis.[1] A course usually consists of 6–12 treatments, but may be more or fewer. Following a course of ECT some patients may be given continuation or maintenance ECT with further treatments at weekly, fortnightly or monthly intervals.[1] A few psychiatrists in the US use multiple-monitored ECT (MMECT), where patients receive more than one treatment per anesthetic.[1] Electroconvulsive therapy is not a required subject in US medical schools and not a required skill in psychiatric residency training. Privileging for ECT practice at institutions is a local option: no national certification standards are established, and no ECT-specific continuing training experiences are required of ECT practitioners.[111]
United Kingdom
[edit]In the UK in 1980, an estimated 50,000 people received ECT annually, with use declining steadily since then[112] to about 12,000 per annum in 2002.[113] It is still used in nearly all psychiatric hospitals, with a survey of ECT use from 2002 finding that 71 percent of patients were women and 46 percent were over 65 years of age. Eighty-one percent had a diagnosis of mood disorder; schizophrenia was the next most common diagnosis. Sixteen percent were treated without their consent.[113] In 2003, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a government body which was set up to standardize treatment throughout the National Health Service in England and Wales, issued guidance on the use of ECT. Its use was recommended "only to achieve rapid and short-term improvement of severe symptoms after an adequate trial of treatment options has proven ineffective and/or when the condition is considered to be potentially life-threatening in individuals with severe depressive illness, catatonia or a prolonged manic episode".[114]
The guidance received a mixed reception. It was welcomed by an editorial in the British Medical Journal[115] but the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched an unsuccessful appeal.[116] The NICE guidance, as the British Medical Journal editorial points out, is only a policy statement and psychiatrists may deviate from it if they see fit. Adherence to standards has not been universal in the past. A survey of ECT use in 1980 found that more than half of ECT clinics failed to meet minimum standards set by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, with a later survey in 1998 finding that minimum standards were largely adhered to, but that two-thirds of clinics still fell short of current guidelines, particularly in the training and supervision of junior doctors involved in the procedure.[117] A voluntary accreditation scheme, ECTAS, was set up in 2004 by the Royal College, and as of 2017[update] the vast majority of ECT clinics in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have signed up.[118]
The Mental Health Act 2007 allows people to be treated against their will. This law has extra protections regarding ECT. A patient capable of making the decision can decline the treatment, and in that case treatment cannot be given unless it will save that patient's life or is immediately necessary to prevent deterioration of the patient's condition. A patient may not be capable of making the decision (they "lack capacity"), and in that situation ECT can be given if it is appropriate and also if there are no advance directives that prevent the use of ECT.[119]
China
[edit]ECT was introduced in China in the early 1950s and while it was originally practiced without anesthesia, as of 2012 almost all procedures were conducted with it. As of 2012, there are approximately 400 ECT machines in China, and 150,000 ECT treatments are performed each year.[120] Chinese national practice guidelines recommend ECT for the treatment of schizophrenia, depressive disorders, and bipolar disorder and in the Chinese literature, ECT is an effective treatment for schizophrenia and mood disorders.[120]
Although the Chinese government stopped classifying homosexuality as an illness in 2001, electroconvulsive therapy is still used by some establishments as a form of "conversion therapy".[121][122] Alleged Internet addiction (or general unruliness) in adolescents is also known to have been treated with ECT, sometimes without anestheia, most notably by Yang Yongxin. The practice was banned in 2009 after news on Yang broke out.[123]
Society and culture
[edit]Controversy
[edit]Surveys of public opinion, the testimony of former patients, legal restrictions on the use of ECT and disputes as to the efficacy, ethics and adverse effects of ECT within the psychiatric and wider medical community indicate that the use of ECT remains controversial.[124][125][126][127][128][129][130] This is reflected in the January 2011 vote by the FDA's Neurological Devices Advisory Panel to recommend that FDA maintain ECT devices in the Class III device category for high risk devices, except for patients with catatonia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.[131] This may result in the manufacturers of such devices having to do controlled trials on their safety and efficacy for the first time.[4][132][133] In justifying their position, panelists referred to the memory loss associated with ECT and the lack of long-term data.[134]
Legal status
[edit]Informed consent
[edit]The World Health Organization (2005) advises that ECT should be used only with the informed consent of the patient (or their guardian if their incapacity to consent has been established).[34]
In the US, this doctrine places a legal obligation on a doctor to make a patient aware of the reason for treatment, the risks and benefits of a proposed treatment, the risks and benefits of alternative treatment, and the risks and benefits of receiving no treatment. The patient is then given the opportunity to accept or reject the treatment. The form states how many treatments are recommended and also makes the patient aware that consent may be revoked and treatment discontinued at any time during a course of ECT.[3] The US Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health states that patients should be warned that the benefits of ECT are short-lived without active continuation treatment in the form of drugs or further ECT, and that there may be some risk of permanent, severe memory loss after ECT.[3] The report advises psychiatrists to involve patients in discussion, possibly with the aid of leaflets or videos, both before and during a course of ECT.
According to the US Surgeon General, involuntary treatment is uncommon in the US and is typically used only in cases of great extremity, and only when all other treatment options have been exhausted. The use of ECT is believed to be a potentially life-saving treatment.[73]
In one of the few jurisdictions where recent statistics on ECT usage are available, a national audit of ECT by the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network indicated that 77% of patients who received the treatment in 2008 were capable of giving informed consent.[135]
In the UK, in order for consent to be valid it requires an explanation in "broad terms" of the nature of the procedure and its likely effects.[136] One review from 2005 found that only about half of patients felt they were given sufficient information about ECT and its adverse effects[137] and another survey found that about fifty percent of psychiatrists and nurses agreed with them.[138]
A 2005 study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry described patients' perspectives on the adequacy of informed consent before ECT.[137] The study found that "About half (45–55%) of patients reported they were given an adequate explanation of ECT, implying a similar percentage felt they were not." The authors also stated:
Approximately a third did not feel they had freely consented to ECT even when they had signed a consent form. The proportion who feel they did not freely choose the treatment has actually increased over time. The same themes arise whether the patient had received treatment a year ago or 30 years ago. Neither current nor proposed safeguards for patients are sufficient to ensure informed consent with respect to ECT, at least in England and Wales.[137]
Involuntary ECT
[edit]Procedures for involuntary ECT vary from country to country depending on local mental health laws.
United States
[edit]In most states in the US, a judicial order following a formal hearing is needed before a patient can be forced to undergo involuntary ECT.[3] However, ECT can also be involuntarily administered in situations with less immediate danger. Suicidal intent is a common justification for its involuntary use, especially when other treatments are ineffective.[3]
In 2007, a psychiatric patient in the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in New York, given the pseudonym of Simone D., won a court ruling which set aside a two-year-old court order to give her electroshock treatment against her will.[139]
United Kingdom
[edit]Until 2007 in England and Wales, the Mental Health Act 1983 allowed the use of ECT on detained patients whether or not they had capacity to consent to it. However, following amendments which took effect in 2007, ECT may not generally be given to a patient who has capacity and refuses it, irrespective of his or her detention under the Act.[140] In fact, even if a patient is deemed to lack capacity, if they made a valid advance decision refusing ECT then they should not be given it; and even if they do not have an advance decision, the psychiatrist must obtain an independent second opinion (which is also the case if the patient is under age of consent).[141] However, there is an exception regardless of consent and capacity; under Section 62 of the Act, if the treating psychiatrist says the need for treatment is urgent they may start a course of ECT without authorization.[142] From 2003 to 2005, about 2,000 people a year in England and Wales were treated without their consent under the Mental Health Act.[143] Concerns have been raised by the official regulator that psychiatrists are too readily assuming that patients have the capacity to consent to their treatments, and that there is a worrying lack of independent advocacy.[144] In Scotland, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 also gives patients with capacity the right to refuse ECT.[145]
Regulation
[edit]In the US, ECT devices came into existence prior to medical devices being regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. In 1976, the Medical Device Regulation Act required the FDA to retrospectively review already existing devices, classify them, and determine whether clinical trials were needed to prove efficacy and safety. The FDA initially classified the devices used to administer ECT as Class III medical devices. In 2014, the American Psychiatric Association petitioned the FDA to reclassify ECT devices from Class III (high-risk) to Class II (medium-risk). A similar reclassification proposal in 2010 did not pass.[146] In 2018, the FDA re-classified ECT devices as Class II devices when used to treat catatonia or a severe major depressive episode associated with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.[131]
By country
[edit]Australia
[edit]In Western Australia, ECT has been heavily restricted since 2014, after a bill passed with bipartisan support introducing restrictions on ECT, which were welcomed by mental health experts. Children under 14 are prohibited from receiving ECT, while those aged 14 to 18 must have informed consent approval from the Mental Health Tribunal. The law imposes a $15,000 fine on anyone who performs ECT on a child under the age of 14.[147]
Similarly, ECT is also banned on children under the age of 12 in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).[148]
United States
[edit]Many mental health facilities offer ECT for specific diagnoses, such as chronic depression, mania, catatonia and schizophrenia. However, ECT is often only used as a treatment of last resort.[149] To be considered for ECT, often testing such as an EKG and lab tests are required, in addition to a physical and neurological exam. Certain medications and conditions, such as cardiac conditions or hypertension, may disqualify a patient from ECT. Patients should give proper informed consent before ECT is performed. In the United States, ECT is performed under general anesthesia. Both trained health professionals with experience in ECT administration as well as a specifically trained and certified anesthesiologist should administer the procedure and anesthesia respectively.[150]
Public perception
[edit]A questionnaire survey of 379 members of the general public in Australia indicated that more than 60% of respondents had some knowledge about the main aspects of ECT. Participants were generally opposed to the use of ECT on depressed individuals with psychosocial issues, on children, and on involuntary patients. Public perceptions of ECT were found to be mainly negative.[130] A sample of the general public, medical students, and psychiatry trainees in the United Kingdom found that the psychiatry trainees were more knowledgeable and had more favorable opinions of ECT than did the other groups.[151] More members of the general public believed that ECT was used for control or punishment purposes than medical students or psychiatry trainees.[151]
Famous cases
[edit]- Ernest Hemingway, an American author, died by suicide in 1961 half a year after ECT treatment at the Mayo Clinic in 1960.[152] He is reported to have said to his biographer, "Well, what is the sense of ruining my head and erasing my memory, which is my capital, and putting me out of business? It was a brilliant cure but we lost the patient."[153] However, the same biographer (Hotchner, 1966) and also a second biographer (Lynn, 1987) emphasized - according to a review from 2008 - "that Hemingway’s serious mental illness and plans for suicide significantly predated his ECT treatments."[154]
- Robert Pirsig had a nervous breakdown and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals between 1961 and 1963.[155] He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and clinical depression as a result of an evaluation conducted by psychoanalysts, and was treated with electroconvulsive therapy on numerous occasions,[156] a treatment he discusses in his novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.[157]
- Thomas Eagleton, United States Senator from Missouri, was dropped from the Democratic ticket in the 1972 United States Presidential Election as the party's vice presidential candidate after it was revealed that he had received electroshock treatment in the past for depression.[158] Presidential nominee George McGovern replaced him with Sargent Shriver, and later went on to lose by a landslide to Richard Nixon.
- American surgeon and award-winning author Sherwin B. Nuland is another notable person who has undergone ECT.[159] In his 40s, his depression became so severe that he had to be institutionalized. After exhausting all treatment options, a young resident assigned to his case suggested ECT, which was successful.[160]
- Author David Foster Wallace also received ECT for many years, beginning as a teenager, before his suicide at age 46.[161]
- New Zealand author Janet Frame experienced both insulin coma therapy and ECT (but without the use of anesthesia or muscle relaxants).[162] She wrote about this in her autobiography, An Angel at My Table (1984),[162] which was later adapted into a film (1990).[163]
- American actor Carrie Fisher wrote about her experience with memory loss after ECT treatments in her memoir Wishful Drinking.[164]
- Lou Reed had ECT as a teenager to "cure" his homosexuality.[165] He later claimed it had induced multiple personality disorder, and resulted in his hatred of psychiatrists.[166] After Reed's death, his sister denied the ECT treatments were intended to suppress his "homosexual urges", asserting that their parents were not homophobic but had been told by his doctors that ECT was necessary to treat Reed's mental and behavioral issues.[165]
- On October 31, 2024, a Chinese transgender woman was approved by Changli county people’s court in Qinhuangdao to receive 60,000 yuan (£6,552) in compensation from a hospital that gave her electroshock conversion treatment against her will. This was the first time any transgender person in China won a legal challenge against the use of electroshock conversion treatment.[167]
Fictional examples
[edit]Electroconvulsive therapy has been depicted in fiction, including fictional works partly based on true experiences. These include Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, Ken Loach's film Family Life, and Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Kesey's novel is a direct product of his time working the graveyard shift as an orderly at a mental health facility in Menlo Park, California.[168][169]
Two analyses of large numbers of films using ECT scenes found that almost all presented fictional settings that were unrelated to real treatment routines and were apparently aimed at stigmatizing ECT as a tool of repression and of mind and behavior control - having effects of memory-erosion, pain and damage.[170][171]
The song “The Mind Electric” by Miracle Musical is typically interpreted as depicting someone undergoing ECT.[172]
In the television series "Mr Bates vs The Post Office", which is based on true events, the character of Saman Kaur receives ECT following a deep depression and attempted suicide.[173]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rudorfer MV, Henry ME, Sackeim HA (2003). "Electroconvulsive therapy" (PDF). In Tasman A, Kay J, Lieberman JA (eds.). Psychiatry (Second ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pp. 1865–1901. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Solano J (2009-04-20). "Electroconvulsive Therapy" (PDF). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ a b c d e f Surgeon General (1999). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, chapter 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h FDA. FDA Executive Summary. Prepared for the January 27–28, 2011 meeting of the Neurological Devices Panel Meeting to Discuss the Classification of Electroconvulsive Therapy Devices (ECT). Quote, p. 38: "Three major practice guidelines have been published on ECT. These guidelines include: APA Task Force on ECT (2001); Third report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT (2004); National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE 2003; NICE 2009). There is significant agreement between the three sets of recommendations."
- ^ a b c d e f g American Psychiatric Association, Committee on Electroconvulsive Therapy, Richard D. Weiner (chairperson), et al. (2001). The practice of electroconvulsive therapy: recommendations for treatment, training, and privileging (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89042-206-9.
- ^ a b c Pompili M, Dominici G, Giordano G, Longo L, Serafini G, Lester D, et al. (December 2014). "Electroconvulsive treatment during pregnancy: a systematic review". Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 14 (12): 1377–1390. doi:10.1586/14737175.2014.972373. PMID 25346216. S2CID 31209001.
- ^ Margarita Tartakovsky (2012) Psych Central. 5 Outdated Beliefs About ECT Archived 2013-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kolshus E, Jelovac A, McLoughlin DM (February 2017). "Bitemporal v. high-dose right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials" (PDF). Psychological Medicine. 47 (3): 518–530. doi:10.1017/S0033291716002737. PMID 27780482. S2CID 10711085. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-16.
- ^ A History of Mental Institutions in the United States which says electrostatic machines were used in 1773
- ^ "Lind, James (1736–1812) on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ Parent A (November 2004). "Giovanni Aldini: from animal electricity to human brain stimulation". The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. Le Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques. 31 (4): 576–584. doi:10.1017/s0317167100003851. PMID 15595271.
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- ^ Beveridge AW, Renvoize EB (August 1988). "Electricity: a history of its use in the treatment of mental illness in Britain during the second half of the 19th century" (PDF). The British Journal of Psychiatry. 153 (2): 157–162. doi:10.1192/bjp.153.2.157. PMID 3076490. S2CID 31015334. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Berrios GE (March 1997). "The scientific origins of electroconvulsive therapy: a conceptual history". History of Psychiatry. 8 (29 pt 1): 105–119. doi:10.1177/0957154X9700802908. PMID 11619203. S2CID 12121233.
- ^ a b Fink M (September 1984). "Meduna and the origins of convulsive therapy". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 141 (9): 1034–1041. doi:10.1176/ajp.141.9.1034. PMID 6147103.
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- ^ Sirgiovanni E, Aruta A (April 23, 2020). "From the Madhouse to the Docu-Museum: The Enigma Surrounding the Cerletti-Bini ECT Apparatus Prototype". Nuncius. 35 (1): 141. doi:10.1163/18253911-03501013. S2CID 218991982.
- ^ a b Sirgiovanni, E, Aruta, A (2020) "The Electroshock Triangle: Disputes about the ECT Apparatus Prototype and its Display in the 1960s, History of Psychiatry. First Published April 20, 2020: https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X20916147.
- ^ a b Kiloh, LG, Smith, JS, Johnson, GF (1988). Physical Treatments in Psychiatry. Melbourne: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 190–208. ISBN 0867931124
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- ^ Goleman D (1990-08-02). "The Quiet Comeback of Electroshock Therapy". The New York Times. p. B5. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
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- ^ See:
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- Breggin PR (1979). Electroshock: its brain-disabling effects. New York: Springer. ISBN 082612710X. OCLC 5029460.
- ^ Blaine JD, Clark SM (1986). "Report of the NIMH-NIH Consensus Development Conference on electroconvulsive therapy--statement of the Consensus Development Panel--statement of the Consensus Development Panel". Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 22 (2): 445–454. PMID 3774937.
- ^ Dutton A (2017-02-18). "This mental health treatment isn't barbaric, it 'totally changed my life'".
- ^ "Electroconvulsive therapy: How modern techniques improve patient outcomes".
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ignored (help) - ^ Mitchell DT, Snyder SL (2000). Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse. University of Michigan Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-472-06748-0.
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External links
[edit]- Position Statement on Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 2015 – from the American Psychiatric Association.
- ECT – information from mental health charity The Royal College of Psychiatrists