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Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or shock therapy, remains a critical biomedical intervention for severe, treatment-resistant depression. While its origins can be traced back to Hippocrates' observations that malaria-induced convulsions alleviated mental illness, modern ECT has evolved significantly from its earlier, more primitive applications. First introduced in 1938 by Ugo Cerletti and his colleagues, ECT involves inducing controlled seizures using electrical currents. In its early...

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MRI-guided dmPFC-rTMS as a Treatment for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder

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Significant Decrease in Hippocampus and Amygdala Mean Diffusivity in Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients Who

Antoine Yrondi¹, Federico Nemmi², Sophie Billoux^2,3

¹Service de Psychiatrie et de Psychologie Médicale, Centre Expert Dépression Résistante FondaMental, CHU Toulouse, Hospital Purpan, ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Université de Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France.

Frontiers in Psychiatry

|October 15, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (BL ECT) may normalize brain microstructure in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Mean diffusivity (MD) decreased in the hippocampus and left amygdala, suggesting improved structural integrity after BL ECT.

Keywords:

DTI MRI depressive disorder electroconvulsive therapy mean diffusivity

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Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins

Published on: August 15, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Radiology
Psychiatry

Background:

The hippocampus and amygdala are crucial in depression.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may impact brain microstructure.
Mean diffusivity (MD) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indicates microstructural integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if bilateral ECT (BL ECT) reduces MD in the hippocampus and amygdala of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients.
To test the hypothesis of microstructural changes in these brain regions following BL ECT.

Main Methods:

Recruited 15 TRD patients (50-70 years old) from the University Hospital of Toulouse.
Assessed patients clinically (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HAM-D) and via DTI at baseline, during treatment (V2), and post-treatment (V3).

Main Results:

All 15 patients responded to BL ECT.
Significant MD decrease observed in the left and right hippocampi and left amygdala at V3 compared to baseline (FDR corrected).
No significant MD decrease in the right amygdala; only the left amygdala's MD reduction correlated with HAM-D score decrease.

Conclusions:

MD, an indirect marker of microstructural integrity, decreases in the hippocampus and left amygdala during BL ECT in TRD.
This observed decrease in MD suggests a potential normalization of microstructural integrity in these brain regions following BL ECT.