Posted by katekite on August 2, 2002, at 13:04:57
In reply to Re: minimizing ECT induced memory loss, posted by cybercafe on August 2, 2002, at 3:01:45
> ... there is memory loss in unilateral? .. i thought that was usually just for the events around the procedure (i could do with forgetting that) and it was temporary...
I understand unilateral is less effective than bilateral but don't recall where I read that. My information all pertained to bilateral.
Here's a thing on side effects from http://www.psych.org/public_info/ect~1.cfm
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Side Effects
Immediate side effects from ECT are rare except for headaches, muscle ache or soreness, nausea and confusion, usually occurring during the first few hours following the procedure. Over the course of ECT, it may be more difficult for patients to remember newly learned information, though this difficulty disappears over the days and weeks following completion of the ECT course. Some patients also report a partial loss of memory for events that occurred during the days, weeks, and months preceding ECT. While most of these memories typically return over a period of days to months following ECT, some patients have reported longer-lasting problems with recall of these memories. However, other individuals actually report improved memory ability following ECT, because of its ability to remove the amnesia that is sometimes associated with severe depression. The amount and duration of memory problems with ECT vary with the type of ECT that is used and are less a concern with unilateral ECT (where one side of the head is stimulated electrically) than with bilateral ECT.---------
> .. and i was under the impression that cognitive problems only occurred in the past, when they didn't provide oxygen...
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> .. please clarify...No, all of these problems are still possible. Which doesn't mean they occur. They found that people who had ECT more recently were happier with the treatment than people who'd had it a long time ago, and hypothesized that maybe this was due to improvements in ECT.
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> hmmm... i imagine that the more severe suicidal cases are going to be the ones that are given ECT, whereas the mild non-emergency cases would be given meds... maybe this is a factor... or maybe it isn't? ...
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Here is the paper I saw on suicide:Convuls Ther 1986;2(1):3-6 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut
Does Electroconvulsive Therapy Prevent Suicide?Milstein V, Small JG, Small IF, Green GE.
Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital and Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
To examine the issue of whether or not electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) protects against suicidal death, we followed a complete population of 1,494 adult hospitalized psychiatric patients for 5-7 years. During that time there were 76 deaths, of which 16 or 21% were by suicide. Cause of death was not significantly related to age, gender, or research diagnosis. Patients who committed suicide were more apt to have received ECT than those who died from other causes, but this difference was not significant. A control group of living patients matched for age, sex, and diagnosis had very similar exposures to ECT, which further indicates that ECT does not influence long-term survival. These findings combined with a close examination of the literature do not support the commonly held belief that ECT exerts long-range protective effects against suicide.
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That above study is small, though it appears large. While they followed a lot of people only 16 total committed suicide so any conclusion has to be questionable. But, I thought it was interesting enough to include.
I don't mean to dissuade anyone who needs ECT from getting it or scare anyone as to the side effects. More wanting to explore ways to reduce the risk of memory loss. Even if 1% of people have permanent memory defects, that's too many. It is really unclear to me still what per cent of people actually have memory defects or cognitive problems that are distressing as every researcher seems to have a different notion of what "mild" or "impairment" means to them. Some seem to weigh potential benefit against risks, while others report only risks, or benefits.
Kate
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poster:katekite
thread:114868
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020731/msgs/114954.html