Medscape Medical News Deborah Brauser August 07, 2024 For years, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been a lifesaving treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet exactly how it works has largely remained a mystery. Now researchers believe they have uncovered the underlying mechanisms behind its therapeutic effects — a discovery that may help clinicians better...
Tag: <span>electroconvulsive therapy</span>
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Electroconvulsive therapy or ketamine? Clinical factors affect outcomes
by UT Southwestern Medical Center Treatment outcomes of ketamine vs electroconvulsive therapy (ect) stratified by less or more severe baseline depression severity. The least-squares mean from mixed-effects model analyses was plotted for both treatment groups (ECT and ketamine) based on the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (QIDS-SR16) baseline depression severity thresholds of moderate...
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How electroconvulsive therapy heals the brain—new insights into ECT for depression
by Sydney E. Smith, The Conversation Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When most people hear about electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, it typically conjures terrifying images of cruel, outdated and pseudo-medical procedures. Formerly known as electroshock therapy, this perception of ECT as dangerous and ineffective has been reinforced in pop culture for decades—think the 1962 novel-turned-Oscar-winning film “One...
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Ketamine Can Treat Depression as Effectively as Electroconvulsive Therapy
05 June 2023 By CARLY CASSELLA (Todorean Gabriel/Getty Images) The “dissociative anesthetic” ketamine looks ever more promising as a safe and effective treatment for intractable depression. A new randomized trial from researchers in the United States has shown that injections of ketamine are at least as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) when treating non-psychotic forms of major depression. After starting...
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Study shows link between genetics and response to electroconvulsive therapy
by University of Manitoba The figure shows the associations between PRSs for major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia and outcomes of ECT among all participants (main analysis) and among only those with unipolar depression (sensitivity analysis). Odds ratios are per standard deviation of increasing PRS, and an oddsratio .1 indicates higher odds of favorable outcome....