Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T20:12:01.573Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of ECT on Pituitary Hormone Release: Relationship to Seizure, Clinical Variables and Outcome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

J. F. W. Deakin ,
I. N. Ferrier ,
T. J. Crow ,
E. C. Johnstone  and
P. Lawler
J. F. W. Deakin
Affiliation:
National Institute Medical Research and Clinical Research Centre, Withington Hospital, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 8LR
I. N. Ferrier
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ
T. J. Crow
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ
E. C. Johnstone
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ
P. Lawler
Affiliation:
South Cleveland Hospital, Middlesborough
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Prolactin, Cortisol, growth hormone and TSH serum levels (before and 15 minutes after treatment) were measured in 62 patients with endogenous depression randomly allocated to real or pseudo-ECT. Prolactin increased significantly more in those receiving real ECT than in those receiving pseudo-ECT, but the size of this effect had diminished by the time of the last (8th) treatment in the trial. Cortisol secretion was also significantly increased following the first treatment by real ECT, but this increase was of significantly smaller size in patients with delusions. Tolerance to the effects of ECT on Cortisol secretion was not observed. No effects of ECT on growth hormone or TSH secretion were detected, and no clear evidence was obtained that endocrine responses can be used as a predictor of response to ECT.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 143 , Issue 6 , December 1983 , pp. 618 - 624
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arató, M., Erdós, A., Kurcz, M., Vermes, I. & Fekete, M. (1980) Studies on the prolactin response induced by electroconvulsive therapy in schizophrenics. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 61, 239–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blackard, W. G. & Waddell, C. C. (1969) Cholinergic blockade and growth hormone responsiveness to insulin hypogylcaemia. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, 131, 192–6.Google Scholar
Byfield, P. G. H., Bird, D., Land, M., Yepez, R. & Himsworth, R. L. (1979) Inter-relation of the pituitary-thyroid system at birth in man. Journal of Endocrinology, 80, 373–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, B. J., Curtis, G. C. & Mendels, J. (1976) Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma free Cortisol concentrations in depression. Psychological Medicine, 6, 235–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Checkley, S. A. (1980) Neuroendocrine tests of monoamine function in man: a review of basic theory and its application to the study of depressive illness. Psychological Medicine, 10, 35–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cotes, P. M., Crow, T. J., Johnstone, E. C., Bartlett, W. & Bourne, R. C. (1978) Neuroendocrine changes in acute schizophrenia as a function of clinical state and neuroleptic medication. Psychological Medicine, 8, 657–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dias, R. D., Perry, M. L. S., Carrasco, M. A. & Izquierdo, I. (1981) Effect of electroconvulsive shock on β-endorphin immunoreactivity of rat brain, pituitary gland and plasma. Behavioural and Neurol Biology, 32, 265–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eden, S. & Modigh, K. (1977). Effects of apomorphine and clonidine on rat plasma growth hormone after pretreatment with reserpine and electroconvulsive shocks. Brain Research, 129, 379–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elithorn, A., Bridges, P. K., Hodges, J. R. & Joen, M. T. (1969) Adrenocortical responsiveness during courses of electroconvulsive therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 575–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glassman, A. H. & Roose, S. P. (1981) Delusional depression. A distinct clinical entity? Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 424–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grahame-Smith, D. G., Green, A. R. & Costain, D. W. (1978) Mechanism of the antidepressant action of electroconvulsive therapy. Lancet, i, 254–6.Google Scholar
Guillemin, R., Vargo, T., Rossier, J., Minick, S., Ling, N., Rivier, C., Vale, W. & Bloom, F. (1977) β-endorphin and adrenocorticotrophin are secreted concomitantly by the pituitary gland. Science, 197, 1367–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imura, H., Nakai, Y., Keito, Y., Hoshimoto, Y. & Moridera, K. (1973) Effect of adrenergic drugs on growth hormone and ACTH serotonin. In Endocrinology. Proceedings of IVth International Congress of Endocrinology (ed. Scaw, R. O.). New York: Excerpta Medica.Google Scholar
Jacquet, Y. F. & Marks, N. (1976) The C-fragment of β-lipotropin: an endogenous neuroleptic or antipsychotogen? Science, 194, 632–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, E. C., Deakin, J. F. W., Lawler, P., Frith, C. D., Stevens, M., McPherson, K. & Crow, T. J. (1980) The Northwick Park ECT trial. Lancet, ii, 1317–20.Google Scholar
Katz, R. J. & Schmaltz, K. (1980) Reduction in opiate activation after chronic electroconvulsive shock—possible role for endorphins in the behavioural effects of convulsive shock treatment. Neuroscience Letters, 19, 85–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirkegaard, C. & Carroll, B. J. (1980) Dissociation of TSH and adrenocortical disturbances in depression. Psychiatry Research, 3, 253–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawson, D. M. & Gala, R. R. (1975) The influence of adrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic and serotonergic drugs on plasma prolactin levels in ovariectomized, oestrogen treated rats. Endocrinology, 96, 313–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matussek, N., Ackenheil, M., Hippus, H., Muller, F., Schroder, H-M., Schultes, H. & Wasilewski, D. (1980) Effect of clonidine on growth hormone release in psychiatric patients and controls. Psychiatry Research, 2, 25–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myslobodsky, M. S., Mintz, M. & Kofman, O. (1981) Pharmacologic analysis of the postical immobility syndrome in the rat. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour, 15, 93–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Dea, J. P. K., Gould, D., Hallberg, M. & Wieland, R. G. (1978) Prolactin changes during electroconvulsive therapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 609–11.Google ScholarPubMed
Ohman, R., Walinder, J., Balldin, J., Wallin, L. & Abrahamsson, L. (1976) Prolactin response to electroconvulsive therapy. Lancet, ii, 936–7.Google Scholar
Papeschi, R., Randrup, A. & Lal, S. (1974) Effect of ECT on dopaminergic and noradrenergic mechanisms. Psychopharmacologia, 35, 149–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rees, L., Butler, P. W. P., Gosling, C. & Besser, G. M. (1970) Adrenergic blockade and the corticosteroid and growth hormone response to methylamphetamine. Nature, 228, 365–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robin, A. & De Tissera, S. (1982) A double-blind controlled comparison of the therapeutic effects of low and high energy electroconvulsive therapies. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 357–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryan, R. J., Swanson, D. W., Faiman, C., Mayberry, W. E. & Spadoni, A. J. (1970) Effects of convulsive electroshock on serum concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone and growth hormone in man. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 30, 51–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scanlon, M. F., Pourmand, M., McGregor, A. M., Rodriguez-Arnao, M. D., Hall, K., Gomez-Pan, A. & Hall, R. (1979) Some current aspects of clinical and experimental neuroendocrinology with particular reference to growth hormone, thyrotrophin and prolactin. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 2, 307–331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skrabanek, P., Balfe, A., Webb, M., Maguire, J. & Powell, D. (1981) Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) increased plasma growth hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone but not thyrotrophin or substance P. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 6, 261–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stubbs, W. A., Delitala, G., Jones, A., Jeffcoate, W. S., Edwards, C. R. W., Ratter, S. J., Besser, G. M., Bloom, S. R. & Alberti, K. G. M. M. (1978) Hormonal and metabolic responses to an enkephalin analogue in normal man. Lancet, ii, 1225–6.Google Scholar
Tortella, F. C., Cowan, A., Belenky, G. L. & Holaday, J. W. (1981) Opiate-like electroencephalographic and behavioural effects of electroconvulsive shock in rats. European Journal of Pharmacology, 76, 121–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trimble, M. R. (1978) Serum prolactin in epilepsy and hysteria. British Medical Journal, ii, 1682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigăs, M., Wiedermann, V., Németh, Š., Jurčovičová, J. & Žigo, Ľ. (1976) Alpha-adrenergic regulation of growth hormone release after electroconvulsive therapy in man. Neuroendocrinology, 21, 42–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ylikorkala, O., Kauppila, A., Haapalahti, J. & Karppanen, H. (1976) The effect of electric convulsion therapy on the circulating concentrations of pituitary hormones, Cortisol and cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Clinical Endocrinology, 5, 571–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.