Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) The current stimulates the brain and triggers a seizure (fit), which helps relieve the symptoms of depression. ECT is always carried out in hospital by a specialist doctor under a general anaesthetic.

What does electroconvulsive therapy do?

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.

Is ECT still used in UK?

The use of ECT in the UK has continued to fall, from about 23,000 courses in 1986 to about 11,000 in 2002. There is still marked variation in use, both in prescribing and in standards of administration.

How successful is ECT treatment?

What is the Success Rate of Electroconvulsive Therapy? ECT is an effective medical treatment option, helping as many as 80-85 percent of patients who receive it. Most patients remain well for many months afterwards.

Is ECT still used today?

But electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is still being used -- more in Europe than the United States -- and it may be the most effective short-term treatment for some patients with depressive symptoms, a newly published review in the journal The Lancet suggests.

The truth about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - Helen M. Farrell

What mental illnesses does ECT treat?

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical treatment most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that has not responded to other treatments. ECT involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anesthesia.

Can you get brain damage from ECT?

Despite many scientific and governmental authorities having concluded that ECT does not cause brain damage, there is significant evidence that ECT has indeed caused brain damage in some patients, both historically and recently, and evidence that it always causes some form or degree of brain damage.

Does ECT change your personality?

ECT does not change a person's personality, nor is it designed to treat those with just primary “personality disorders.” ECT can cause transient short-term memory — or new learning — impairment during a course of ECT, which fully reverses usually within one to four weeks after an acute course is stopped.

How long does it take to recover from electroconvulsive therapy?

The ability to form new memories can be impaired during and after an acute series of ECT treatments but this ability makes a full recovery in about 2 weeks from the last treatment.

Can ECT make you worse?

ECT may have a role in people who have comorbid depression and anxiety. The concern of some psychiatrists is that while ECT may help with depressive symptoms, it could worsen anxiety symptoms, including obsessional thoughts or panic attacks.

Why is ECT controversial?

Reasons for Controversy

Three reasons are given for the aversion: 1) ECT is considered old-fashioned and politically incorrect; 2) it is forced on the patient; and 3) the memory disturbances are so severe and persistent that no rational human being would undergo this procedure, no matter how well-intended.

Is electric shock therapy painful?

Freeman and R. E. Kendell of the University of Edinburgh found that 68 percent reported that the experience was no more upsetting than a visit to the dentist. For the others, ECT was more unpleasant than dentistry, but it was not painful. Still, the treatment is not hazard-free.

Does UK still use ECT 2021?

But for a group of the most severely depressed patients, ECT has remained one of the last options on the table when other therapies have failed. Annually in the UK around 4,000 patients, of which John is one, still undergo ECT.

When should ECT not be used?

a past history of moderate or severe depression or. initial presentation of subthreshold depressive symptoms that have been present for a long period (typically at least 2 years) or. subthreshold depressive symptoms or mild depression that persist(s) after other interventions.

Can ECT cause suicidal thoughts?

Suicide attempts were recorded in 0.8% of the ECT patients compared to 4.2% of those who had received “adequate” and 7% “inadequate” antidepressant medication treatment.

What are the long term side effects of ECT?

Explains what electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is, when it might be used and what happens during the treatment.
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Longer-term side effects

• apathy (loss of interest in things)
• loss of creativity, drive and energy.
• difficulty concentrating.
• loss of emotional responses.
• difficulty learning new information.

Can you eat before electroconvulsive therapy?

Before ECT, patients are asked not to eat or drink from midnight the night before treatment. During the procedure, the patient receives a short acting anesthetic agent which puts the patient to sleep for approximately 5-10 minutes.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of electroconvulsive therapy?

The Pros & Cons Of ECT

However, ECT does have several disadvantages. First and foremost, the treatment requires sedation, making recovery complex and much longer. Second, ECT has a higher chance to cause serious side effects for some individuals, including memory loss, which can deter potential patients.

Can you relapse after ECT?

After a successful acute course of ECT, maintaining remission from depressive symptoms is a major challenge for clinicians and patients, because the relapse rate has been reported to be as high as 84% within the first 6 months after ECT.

Can ECT cause dementia?

Although ECT can cause transient memory problems, the new findings show that the treatment "does not cause dementia," author Martin Balslev Jørgensen, DMSc, professor of clinical psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, told Medscape Medical News.

Does ECT cause memory loss?

The most persistent adverse effect is retrograde amnesia. Shortly after ECT, most patients have gaps in their memory for events that occurred close in time to the course of ECT, but the amnesia may extend back several months or years. Retrograde amnesia usually improves during the first few months after ECT.

Does ECT affect intelligence?

However, former patients have publicly testified that ECT can result in a very significant (>30 point) permanent decrement in IQ score (Food and Drug Administration, 1982; Andre, 2001; Cott, 2005: p. 5) and have documented the claims by extensive neuropsychological evaluation.

Has anyone died from ECT?

Conclusion: The ECT-related mortality rate was estimated at 2.1 per 100 000 treatments. In comparison, a recent analysis of the mortality of general anesthesia in relation to surgical procedures reported a mortality rate of 3.4 per 100 000. Our findings document that death caused by ECT is an extremely rare event.

Is electroconvulsive therapy still used 2021?

MONDAY, July 19, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- "Shock" therapy often helps lift severe depression, but fear and stigma can deter patients from getting it. Now a large new study is confirming the treatment's safety. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as it's medically known, has been around for decades.

Does ECT alter brain structure?

These conditions are not approached during ECT. Other findings indicate that the passage of electricity, thermal effects, and the transient disruption of the blood-brain barrier during ECS do not result in structural brain damage. Conclusions: There is no credible evidence that ECT causes structural brain damage.