Transcript Shocking Psychiatrics” Examining Electroconvulsive Therapy

“Shocking Psychiatrics”
Examining Electroconvulsive Therapy
By Evangeline Airth
What Is Electroconvulsive Therapy?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
consists of a series of grand mal
epileptic seizures induced by passing
120 volts, the amount in ordinary
house current, to the brain for about a
half-second. A course of treatment
usually lasts two to three weeks, with
shocks given perhaps ten to fifteen
times.
The belief is that the frontal lobe of the brain is the part
most affected in depression and that, by damaging it
temporarily; the depression may be eased and, with repeated
treatments, cured.
The History of Electroshock Therapy
In 1938 the Italian
neurologist Ugo Cerletti
and his assistant Lucio
Bini developed an
alternative method of
inducing seizure by using
electric shocks.
In the 1940s and 1950s the extensive use of ECT
became a sort of behavior control of patients in
mental institutions. During these first years using
this treatment, nearly 40% of patients suffered from
various complications and the overall mortality rate
was 1 in 1,000
What ECT Treats
Although researchers don't fully understand just how
ECT works, it's thought that the seizure causes
changes in the brain chemistry. ECT is thought to
help alleviate the symptoms of certain mental
illnesses, and is generally used in cases such as:
Severe depression, with psychosis, suicidal intent
or refusal to eat
Mania, in cases where there hasn't been a good
response to medications
Schizophrenia, when symptoms are severe or
medications aren't sufficient
But Does It Actually Work?
For over 50 years, psychiatrists used ECT to treat
schizophrenia, even though there was no evidence that
ECT altered the schizophrenic process. In the 1950s, ECT
was reported to be no better than hospitalization or
anesthesia alone for schizophrenics
In the 1960s, advocates of ECT were convinced that
electricity and seizures are therapeutic in mental illness
and vigorously defended its use for depression. However
a recent US study showed that ECT was universally
effective in depression, regardless of type: 70% to 80%
of depressed patients improved. The study also showed,
however, a 69% improvement rate after 8 weeks of
placebo alone.
Controversial Facts
From the American Psychiatric Association:
“ECT is no more dangerous than minor surgery under
general anesthesia, and for some patients may be less
dangerous than treatment with medications.”
From Federal Food and Drug Administration
The FDA classifies ECT machines as a Type III device.
This means that ECT is an experimental procedure,
classified in the highest risk category by the FDA.
Class III means that the machine has not gone through
the rigorous FDA testing required of medical devices,
including safety testing and efficacy assessments.
Adverse Effects of ECT
RisksBrain Damage
Memory Loss
Chance of Death
Seizures and Epilepsy
Cardiovascular Complications
The positive effects of the treatment also wear off quickly,
often resulting in a relapse of the patients symptoms, and
the need for repeated treatments. Many patients have
received several courses of treatment, and some patients are
even "maintained" on shock treatments indefinitely.
"As a neurologist and electroencephalographer, I have seen
many patients after ECT, and I have no doubt that ECT
produces effects identical to those of a head injury. After
multiple sessions of ECT, a patient has symptoms identical
to those of a retired, punch-drunk boxer...After a few
sessions of ECT the symptoms are those of moderate
cerebral contusion, and further enthusiastic use of ECT may
result in the patient functioning at a subhuman level.
Electroconvulsive therapy in effect may be defined as a
controlled type of brain damage produced by electrical
means."
Sydney Samant, M.D.
Clinical Psychiatry News
Why It’s Pseudoscience
. Because the brain damage associated with ECT destroys
memory traces in the brain... a patient "responding" to
ECT and even becoming asymptomatic is not necessarily
healthy or cured but may be functioning at a low mental
level. The true causes of the patient's depression are
untouched by ECT however the patient's concern over
these problems is temporarily absent from their memories.
By avoiding the true problem, most patients will relapse
and require more electroconvulsive therapy as soon as the
brain recovers enough for the person to remember the
original trauma.