Electroconvulsive Therapy News and Research

RSS

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) involves the induction of a seizure for therapeutic purposes by the administration of a variable frequency electrical stimulus shock via electrodes applied to the scalp.

Researchers assess benefits of magnetic seizure therapy to treat depression in bipolar patients

Researchers are assessing whether magnetic seizure therapy (MST) can help relieve treatment-resistant depression in bipolar patients in a clinical trial led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

24 Nov 2020

Electroconvulsive therapy can reduce suicide risk by 84% in bipolar patients

One of the largest ever studies of patients with untreatable bipolar disorder has shown that ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) was able to reduce suicide risk by 84% in high-risk patients, as well as giving effective treatment to around 72% of sufferers.

12 Sep 2020

Botox injections can reduce depression, shows study

Botox, a medication derived from a bacterial toxin, is commonly injected to ease wrinkles, migraines, muscle spasms, excessive sweating and incontinence.

30 Jul 2020

Nasal spray containing esketamine could provide an effective treatment for depression

Depression and long-term stress have been demonstrated to cause changes in the brain which offer a partial explanation for depressive moods, apathy, memory difficulties and other symptoms commonly associated with depression.

22 Apr 2020

New form of magnetic brain stimulation relieves symptoms of severe depression

A new form of magnetic brain stimulation rapidly relieved symptoms of severe depression in 90% of participants in a small study conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

7 Apr 2020

Study provides new insights into experience of women with rare neurological disorder

Imagine living with unwanted sexual arousals, occurring unexpectedly and repeatedly, unrelated to any sexual desire or pleasure.

9 Jan 2020

MU researchers describe Down syndrome-associated catatonia

Down syndrome, due to an extra chromosome 21, occurs in 250,000 children and adults in the United States, making it the country's most common chromosomal disorder. Inherited heart defects, thyroid cancer, celiac disease and developmental disabilities are common Down syndrome complications.

19 Nov 2019

First device-based, non-drug therapy for treating ADHD in children

Deciding how to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children can be a difficult decision for parents. Stimulants, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are the most commonly prescribed ADHD treatments -; and are considered to be the most effective.

8 Nov 2019

Long-term study data shows DBS is effective for patients with treatment-resistant depression

A study published online on Friday, October 4, in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of an area in the brain called the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) provides a robust antidepressant effect that is sustained over a long period of time in patients with treatment-resistant depression--the most severely depressed patients who have not responded to other treatments.

4 Oct 2019

Electroconvulsive therapy appears to fight depression by 'rebooting' certain brain networks

Electroconvulsive therapy helps people with severe depression by "pushing the reset button" on brain networks involved in creating a mental picture, according to recent Baycrest findings.

7 May 2019

Researchers use nitrous oxide to unravel rapid function of antidepressant mechanisms

Ketamine is commonly used in emergency medicine as an anesthetic drug. Later it was discovered to have rapid-acting antidepressant effects, but the mechanisms by which ketamine alleviates depression are still unknown.

29 Apr 2019

Changes in hippocampal structural connectivity differentiate responders of electroconvulsive therapy

A new study in people with major depression reports that electroconvulsive therapy induces changes in the fibers connecting the hippocampus to brain regions involved in mood and emotion.

16 Jan 2019

Researchers to study effects of electroconvulsive therapy on Alzheimer’s patients with aggression

Researchers at McLean Hospital will lead a five-year study to investigate the use of electroconvulsive therapy to treat severe agitation and aggression in people with Alzheimer's disease.

11 Dec 2018

Targeting one brain region with alternating current could decrease symptoms of chronic pain

For the first time, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine showed they could target one brain region with a weak alternating current of electricity, enhance the naturally occurring brain rhythms of that region, and significantly decrease symptoms associated with chronic lower back pain.

9 Nov 2018

Ketamine's acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, finds study

A new study appearing online today from the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that ketamine's acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, the first time that a receptor site has been shown in humans to be necessary for any antidepressant's mechanism of action.

29 Aug 2018

Depressed patients treated with nerve stimulation experience improvements in quality of life

People with depression who are treated with nerve stimulation experience significant improvements in quality of life, even when their depression symptoms don't completely subside, according to results of a national study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

21 Aug 2018

Voluntary and involuntary electroconvulsive therapy for depression provide similar outcomes

People who have involuntary electroconvulsive therapy for depression have similar outcomes to those who have voluntary treatment, according to a ground-breaking new study conducted by researchers from Trinity College Dublin's Department of Psychiatry.

28 Jun 2018

Electroconvulsive Therapy News and Research

Further Reading