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Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Richard C. Barnes ,
Ali Hussein ,
David N. Anderson  and
David Powell
Richard C. Barnes
Affiliation:
Whiston Hospital, Prescot, Merseyside
Ali Hussein
Affiliation:
North Mersey Community NHS Trust, Liverpool
David N. Anderson*
Affiliation:
North Mersey Community NHS Trust, Liverpool
David Powell
Affiliation:
North Mersey Community NHS Trust, Liverpool
*
Dr D. N. Anderson, Sir Douglas Crawford Unit, Mossley Hill Hospital, Park Avenue, Liverpool LI8 8BU
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Abstract

Background

ECT is rarely used as a prophylactic treatment. A 74-year-old woman with unstable bipolar affective disorder receiving maintenance ECT presented a unique opportunity to measure the cognitive effects of continuing ECT.

Method

A single case report with serial psychometric testing during over 400 ECT treatments as a single maintenance treatment.

Results

Serial testing did not demonstrate progressive cognitive deterioration, but consistent cognitive deficits typical of acute treatment were evident. The degree of cognitive difficulty may be related to the frequency of treatment.

Conclusions

Maintenance ECT can be an effective prophylactic treatment for selected patients. Cognitive effects would appear to be no greater than with acute treatment and seem to be non-progressive.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 170 , Issue 3 , March 1997 , pp. 285 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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