Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Protocol for Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Symptom Provocation to Treat Obsessive-compulsive Disorder
Published on: November 25, 2025
Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for comorbid pharmacotherapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive and
F Hanisch1, J Friedemann, J Piro
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube Str. 40, 06097 Halle/Saale, Germany. frank.hanisch@medizin.uni-halle.de
Objective:
There is a high comorbidity of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsory disorder (OCD) associated with more severe symptoms. Standard pharmacotherapy achieve symptom improvement in approximately 60% only.
Results:
We report about a 48-old women treated for depression which developed successively psychotic symptoms (ideas of reference, psychotic worries), negative symptoms (blunted affect, impoverished thinking, difficulties in planning), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (mainly repeating rituals, avoidance behaviour, collecting and hoarding). She did not respond to combined treatment with neuroleptics and high dose selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. She acutely improved during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and was maintained on outpatient ECTs fortnightly together with 12 mg sertindol and 45 mg mirtazapine for 42 weeks.
Conclusion:
Maintenance ECT is not an approved therapy in OCD but might be an option in pharmacotherapy refractory cases of comorbid OCD and schizophrenic/schizoaffective disorder.
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