Author Topic: E.C.T.  (Read 1004 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline seamus

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 824
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
E.C.T.
« on: January 22, 2010, 10:49:21 AM »
Has anybody had this procedure done ? Have 1st hand knowledge of someone who has? Does this shit really work?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
It\'d be sad if it wernt so funny,It\'d be funny if it wernt so sad

Offline Ursus

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 8989
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • View Profile
Re: E.C.T.
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2010, 11:08:26 AM »
Personally, I would steer clear of it. I find the possibly permanent memory deficits, not to mention the potential decrease in cognitive function, to be of quite some concern:

    Studies have found that patients are often unaware of substantial cognitive deficits induced by ECT.[26][27] For example, in June, 2008, a Duke University study[26] was published assessing the neuropsychological effects and attitudes in patients after ECT. Forty-six patients participated in the study, which involved neuropsychological and psychological testing before and after ECT. The study documented substantial cognitive decline after ECT on a variety of memory tests, including "verbal memory for word lists and prose passages and visual memory of geometric designs." The study further found that a significant number of patients erroneously believed that their memory had improved after ECT despite the fact that neuropsychological testing clearly showed the opposite. As stated by the researchers, "Indeed, there was a slight trend towards [patients reporting] improved memory functioning, despite the objective neuropsychological data indicating significantly lower recognition and delayed recall."[/list]
    « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
    -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    Offline Ursus

    • Newbie
    • *
    • Posts: 8989
    • Karma: +3/-0
      • View Profile
    ECT Causes Permanent Amnesia and Cognitive Deficits
    « Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 12:39:27 PM »
    Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia and Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits
    Posted on : Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:39:00 GMT | Author : Committee for Truth in Psychiatry
    News Category : PressRelease


    NEW YORK, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to function.

    "[T]his study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings," the study notes.

    For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. Psychologist Sackeim also taught a generation of ECT practitioners that permanent amnesia from ECT is so rare that it could not be studied. He asserted that most people who said the treatment erased years of memory were mentally ill and thus not credible.

    The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than 3 million people have received ECT over the past generation. "Those patients who reported permanent adverse effects on cognition have now had their experiences validated," said Linda Andre, head of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry, a national organization of ECT recipients.

    Since the mid-1980s, Sackeim worked as a consultant to the ECT device manufacturer Mecta Corp. He never revealed his financial interest in ECT to NIMH, as required by federal law, and, until 2002, did not reveal it to New York officials as required by state law. Neuropsychopharmacology has endured negative publicity over its failure to disclose financial conflicts of journal authors, resulting in the editor's resignation and a promise to disclose such conflicts in the future; yet there is no disclosure of Sackeim's long-term relationship with Mecta, nor did Sackeim disclose his financial conflict when his NIMH grant was renewed to 2009 at approximately $500,000 per year.

    The six-month study followed about 250 patients in New York City hospitals, an unusually large number; most ECT studies are based on 20 to 30 patients. Sackeim's previously published studies were short term, making it impossible to assess long-term effects. "However, in other contexts over the years -- court depositions, communications with mental health officials, and grant protocols -- Sackeim has claimed to follow up patients for as long as five years. This raises serious questions as to how long he has actually known of the existence and prevalence of permanent amnesia and why it wasn't revealed until now," Andre said.

    Besides finding that ECT routinely causes substantial and permanent amnesia, the study contradicts Sackeim's oft-published statements that ECT increases intelligence and that patients who report permanent adverse effects are mentally ill.

    "The study is a stunning self-repudiation of a 25-year career," Andre said.


    # #
    -------------- • -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    Source for original article (11p PDF):

    The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Settings
    Neuropsychopharmacology (2007) 32, 244 – 254
    © 2007 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0893-133X/07 $30.00
    http://www.neuropsychopharmacology.org
    « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
    -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    Offline Ursus

    • Newbie
    • *
    • Posts: 8989
    • Karma: +3/-0
      • View Profile
    Re: ECT Causes Permanent Amnesia and Cognitive Deficits
    « Reply #3 on: January 22, 2010, 01:20:23 PM »
    Another source, from the publisher's site, to read online:
    (11p PDF download link on page)


    Original Article

    Neuropsychopharmacology (2007) 32, 244–254. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301180; published online 23 August 2006

    Clinical Research
    The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Settings

    Harold A Sackeim 1,2,3, Joan Prudic 1,2, Rice Fuller 4, John Keilp 2,5, Philip W Lavori 6 and Mark Olfson 2,7

    1 Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
    2 Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
    3 Department of Radiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
    4 Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
    5 Department of Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
    6 Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program and the Division of Biostatistics, Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
    7 Department of Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Correspondence: Dr HA Sackeim, Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel: +1 212 543 5855; Fax: +1 212 543 5854; E-mail: [email protected]

    Received 9 March 2006; Revised 17 May 2006; Accepted 18 May 2006; Published online 23 August 2006.


    Abstract

    Despite ongoing controversy, there has never been a large-scale, prospective study of the cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We conducted a prospective, naturalistic, longitudinal study of clinical and cognitive outcomes in patients with major depression treated at seven facilities in the New York City metropolitan area. Of 751 patients referred for ECT with a provisional diagnosis of a depressive disorder, 347 patients were eligible and participated in at least one post-ECT outcome evaluation. The primary outcome measures, Modified Mini-Mental State exam scores, delayed recall scores from the Buschke Selective Reminding Test, and retrograde amnesia scores from the Columbia University Autobiographical Memory Interview–SF (AMI–SF), were evaluated shortly following the ECT course and 6 months later. A substantial number of secondary cognitive measures were also administered. The seven sites differed significantly in cognitive outcomes both immediately and 6 months following ECT, even when controlling for patient characteristics. Electrical waveform and electrode placement had marked cognitive effects. Sine wave stimulation resulted in pronounced slowing of reaction time, both immediately and 6 months following ECT. Bilateral (BL) ECT resulted in more severe and persisting retrograde amnesia than right unilateral ECT. Advancing age, lower premorbid intellectual function, and female gender were associated with greater cognitive deficits. Thus, adverse cognitive effects were detected 6 months following the acute treatment course. Cognitive outcomes varied across treatment facilities and differences in ECT technique largely accounted for these differences. Sine wave stimulation and BL electrode placement resulted in more severe and persistent deficits.

    Keywords: electroconvulsive therapy, major depression, memory, cognitive side effects, amnesia
    « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
    -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    Offline psy

    • Administrator
    • Newbie
    • *****
    • Posts: 5606
    • Karma: +2/-0
      • View Profile
      • http://homepage.mac.com/psyborgue/
    Re: E.C.T.
    « Reply #4 on: January 22, 2010, 09:12:28 PM »
    Quote from: "bossybee39"
    I think this line of therapy, is torture and it is sick to even concievably put a human being thru. It should be outlawed.
    I don't.  I think any forced treatment should be outlawed but if somebody wants to have themselves shocked (or any treatment they are willing to pay for, effective or not), it should be permitted.
    « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
    Benchmark Young Adult School - bad place [archive.org link]
    Sue Scheff Truth - Blog on Sue Scheff
    "Our services are free; we do not make a profit. Parents of troubled teens ourselves, PURE strives to create a safe haven of truth and reality." - Sue Scheff - August 13th, 2007 (fukkin surreal)