Postictal cardiovascular response predicts therapeutic efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy for depression.

Physiological parameters such as blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) reflect autonomic response after seizure and may correlate with therapeutic efficacy in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). However, the literature has been inconclusive with regard to the relationship between the effectiveness of ECT and physiological markers without atropine. In a consecutive sample of 24 patients with a drug-resistant major depressive episode who underwent modified sine or pulse wave ECT without atropine, the correlation was examined between BP and HR before, and 2 min after electrical stimulation and therapeutic efficacy on depressive symptoms. When mode of stimulation (sine wave or pulse wave) and baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) were controlled for, postictal diastolic BP, systolic BP, HR and rate pressure product (RPP) were all found to be significant predictors of post-treatment HRSD. When these predictors were entered into stepwise regression, both postictal systolic BP and HR remained as significant predictors. The higher these postical physiological parameters, the more effective the course of ECT. It may be useful to examine such sensitive physiological parameters as BP, HR or RPP to determine effective or non-effective electrical seizure.

Postictal suppression correlates with therapeutic efficacy for depression in bilateral sine and pulse wave electroconvulsive therapy.

Ictal electroencephalography (EEG) parameters in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depression reportedly correlate with therapeutic response and stimulus dosage, particularly in right unilateral (RUL) ECT. The authors examined ictal EEG parameters as predictors of therapeutic effectiveness in bilateral (BL) sine and pulse wave ECT. A total of 30 consecutive depressed inpatients who had not responded to standard pharmacotherapy were treated using BL ECT given in either sine or pulse wave mode. Ictal EEG parameters (e.g. regularity, postictal suppression) were manually rated by three trained psychiatrists. Polyspike phase duration was significantly longer in sine wave ECT than in pulse wave ECT. Postictal suppression emerged as the only significant predictor of therapeutic outcome when baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression and mode of stimulation were controlled for. Postictal suppression appears to offer a useful predictor of clinical outcome of depression in BL ECT. No EEG parameters were found to be differentially predictive between sine and pulse wave ECT.

Regional cerebral blood flow changes in depression after electroconvulsive therapy.

A large number of studies have documented regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) abnormalities in depression. A smaller yet significant number of studies have examined changes in rCBF before and after treatment. The findings, however, have been variable with regard to changes before and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A consecutive series of patients (n=10) with drug-resistant major depressive episode according to DSM-IV with 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) scores greater than or equal to 14 gave their informed consent and were studied with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography (99mTc-ECD SPECT) before and after a course of ECT. The results were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping version 99. No region showed significant positive correlations between rCBF patterns of changes and HRSD changes, but three clusters emerged as showing significant negative correlations. These regions corresponded with left frontopolar gyrus, left amygdala, globus pallidus and nucleus accumbens, and left superior temporal gyrus. It was speculated that ECT affected both the prefrontal cortex, commonly assumed to be involved in depression, and the amygdala, known to play a central role in the processing of emotional stimuli, through the limbic-cortical-striatal-pallidal-thalamic circuit.

Memory, attention, and executive functions before and after sine and pulse wave electroconvulsive therapies for treatment-resistant major depression.

OBJECTIVE: Studies of the cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have resulted in controversial findings up to now, partly because researchers and reviewers have not always made a clear distinction among various aspects of cognition and because there are many parameters involved in the administration of ECT that have a potential impact on cognition. The present study focused on the impact of sine and pulse waveforms on anterograde memory and nonmemory cognitive functions. METHODS: We assigned 18 patients with unipolar major depression or bipolar I or II disorder, most recent episode depressed, to receive sine wave or pulse wave ECT and assessed their cognitive function before and after ECT, using a neuropsychologic test battery that measured anterograde memory, attention, and executive functions. Outcomes were measured, on average, 8.2 days after the last ECT session. RESULTS: Both waveforms were equally effective in alleviating depression. Those who received sine wave ECT showed statistically significant deterioration in attention and executive tasks, such as the Stroop test, which measures selective attention (P = 0.02), and the dual task, which taps divided attention (P = 0.01). On the other hand, those who received pulse wave ECT improved to a significant degree in certain memory tasks, such as visual memory (P = 0.01) and general memory (P = 0.01) of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), as well as in the dual task (P = 0.01). The between-group comparison revealed robust superiority of the pulse wave over the sine wave in terms of the dual task (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Anterograde memory improved to a statistically significant or nonsignificant degree at 1 week post-ECT in comparison with pre-ECT regardless of waveforms. Attention/executive functions tended to deteriorate with sine wave ECT but improved with pulse wave ECT.