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Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is a psychiatric treatment in which an electrical current is passed through the brain to cause a seizure. It is used to treat several mental health conditions, including depression, mania, and schizophrenia. ECT is a safe and effective treatment that has been used for more than 70 years. During the operation, the patient is generally unconscious. ECT can be an effective treatment for resistant people to other forms of treatment, such as medication or talk therapy. It can also be used for people at risk of harming themselves or others.
The Various Kinds of Electroconvulsive Therapy
Unilateral ECT: One side of the brain is electrically stimulated. This is by far the most frequent form of ECT.
Bilateral ECT: Electrical current is passed through both sides of the brain. This is used less often than unilateral ECT.
Deep ECT: A higher electrical current is passed through the brain than with other types of ECT. This type of ECT is used for people who have not responded to other treatments.
Pros and Cons of Electroconvulsive Therapy
ECT is an effective treatment for several mental health conditions. It is both painless and effective, with most patients reporting that it is beneficial.
However, ECT can also have some drawbacks. Confusion is the most frequent adverse effect, which usually goes away following a few days. Other possible side effects include headaches and muscular pains.
The Main Indication of Electroconvulsive Therapy or ECT
Depressive Illness
It’s not a treatment for sadness or simply a bad mood. It can’t repair marital difficulties or return the dead to their families. It cannot reduce impulsive suicides (or any underlying significant mental health issues) of its own accord.
Schizophrenia
The combination of MEDTRONIC and the neuroleptics resulted in greater early symptomatic relief than either drug alone. The advantage is greatest when both drugs are used together.
Mania
Butyrophenones (e.g., haloperidol, droperidol), phenothiazines, and lithium are the most widely used medicines for manic depression. Mood stabilizers such as lithium and other anti-mania medications are the mainstay of therapy for mania disorders. ECT may help to alleviate symptoms by reducing activity.
Pregnancy can induce a variety of mental illnesses, such as delusions, psychoses, and dementia. The first trimester of pregnancy is when these conditions are most likely to appear. Puerperal mania is a form of madness that occurs soon after delivery. Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by disorganized thinking and behavior cycles.
Postpartum Psychosis
The most common and successful therapy for Pediatric Epilepsy is electrical stimulation. ECT can be delivered to nursing mothers in a secure manner without compromising their milk supply.
Schizo-Affective Disorders
In persons with schizo depression, SSRI antidepressants can exacerbate schizophrenic symptoms, and neuroleptics may promote depressive episodes.
Common Side Effects Associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy
Headache
Backache and Body Aches (due to a temporary rise in intracranial pressure and myalgias).
Confusion
It’s usually minor and fleeting. Long-term perplexity can be caused by a medical problem if the length of current or voltage is too long. It may be dealt with by delivering oxygen or an injection of benzodiazepines or neuroleptics. The seizure threshold varies from person to person, and the required amount of current should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Amnesia (both retrograde and anterograde)
The symptoms of ECT-induced memory loss range widely. The majority of people report no issues with their memory. Some individuals, on the other hand, may lose information gathered over days and weeks prior to, during, and for many weeks after ECT. Epilepsy causes a variety of epileptic seizures, each with its specific set of symptoms and duration. Memory loss occurs as a result of the damage to brain cells that is caused by the seizure.
Does ECT Lead to Permanent Memory Loss?
The diminished short-term memory (only in a few people) lasts for nine days to 9 months (only in 18 to 67 percent of cases), owing to the influence of current rather than convulsions. The non-invasive Deep Tissue Therapy and Sticky Needles are two examples of this therapy. They induce convulsions by using low levels of electricity (much lower than the levels used in modern ECT machines). Unipolar ECT, oxygen therapy, and voltage regulating machines (current should be utilized at a low voltage for a short duration.
Conclusion
ECT is ineffective for treating obsessive compulsive disorders, anorexia nervosa, confusional states, sleep difficulties, or as a narcotic drug taper aid. ECT may be used to treat patients with atypical pain disorder or hypochondriacal neurosis, which are also depressed. It is also beneficial in people with underlying mental retardation, epilepsy, organic mental disorders, and delirium tremens. ECT has been used to treat anorexia nervosa, neurodermatitis, phantom limb pain, and trigeminal neuralgia, among other things. Parkinson’s disease, a major depressive disorder with dementia. This was the complete guide on Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
