Table of Contents
What is true about electroconvulsive therapy?
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.
Which of the following best describes the use of electroconvulsive therapy today?
ECT is indicated in patients with treatment-resistant depression or severe major depression that impairs activities of daily living. The definition of treatment-resistant depression is depression that is unresponsive to multiple antidepressant medication trials.
What are 3 common side effects of ECT?
We discuss potential adverse effects (AEs) associated with ECT and strategies for their prevention and management. Common acute AEs include headache, nausea, myalgia, and confusion; these are self-limiting and are managed symptomatically.
Which of the following is most effectively treated with ECT?
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for depression. It is also used to treat other forms of mental illness.
Which of the following is true of electroconvulsive?
Expert Answer The correct option is: People who undergo unilateral ECT experience memory problems.
What is the mechanism of action of ECT?
The main mechanism of action in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the induction of a generalized clonic seizure. This seizure is triggered by the delivery of an electric current to the patient’s brain using electrodes placed on the patient’s head.
What are the two main types of ECT treatment?
- Bilateral ECT. This is when the current is passed through both sides of your head.
- Unilateral ECT. This is when the current is only on one side of your head.
How are the side effects of electroconvulsive therapy ECT reduced?
Memory impairment The risk of experiencing memory loss or other cognitive side effects following ECT can be decreased by using RUL electrode placement, brief pulses, and lower stimulus charge relative to seizure threshold.
What is the success rate of ECT?
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.
What are the benefits of electroconvulsive therapy?
In two new studies published November 16, 2023 in Translational Psychiatry, they propose a new hypothesis that ECT alleviates depression symptoms by increasing aperiodic activity, a type of electrical activity in the brain that doesn’t follow a consistent pattern and is generally considered to be the brain’s background …
Is electroconvulsive therapy painful?
Once your medical team is sure that you are deeply asleep and that your muscles are completely relaxed, they will administer the ECT treatment. Because you will be asleep, you will experience no pain during the treatment and will not feel the current or the seizure.
What damage is done by ECT?
The review of literature suggests that ECT does cause at least structural and functional changes in the brain, and these are in all probability related to the effects of the ECT. However, these cannot be construed as brain damage as is usually understood.
Who is ECT not used for?
The NICE guidelines don’t recommend ECT for ongoing management of schizophrenia. They also don’t recommend ECT as a routine treatment for milder depression. You can read full guidelines on the NICE website for using ECT to treat catatonia, mania or schizophrenia. And as one of the treatments for severe depression.
How much electricity is used in ECT?
Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is a procedure used by some psychiatrists. Up to 460 volts of electricity are sent coursing through the brain. Why? To produce a grand mal seizure they claim will “reset” or “reboot” the brain.
What are the contraindications for ECT?
- Elevated intracranial pressure and space-occupying lesions in the brain.
- Recent myocardial infarction (within the last 3 months)
- Severe arterial hypertension.
- Narcotic intolerance.
- Acute glaucoma.
- Changes in the cerebral arteries, e.g., aneurysm, angioma.
What are the positive effects of electroconvulsive therapy?
ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It’s also very effective for patients who have mania or a number of other mental illnesses. ECT is generally used when severe depression doesn’t respond to other forms of therapy.
Does ECT cause memory loss?
THE COGNITIVE adverse effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) limit its use. 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.
What type of memory does ECT affect?
Results: The cognitive problems resulting from ect are threefold: short-term postictal confusion (immediately after the treatment), anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia.
How much voltage is used in ECT?
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 …