Electroconvulsive Therapy in Movement Disorders: A Systematic Review

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an established treatment strategy for a range of psychiatric disorders, including depression, mania, psychosis, and catatonia. A growing body of evidence suggests that ECT may affect motor symptoms in movement disorders. In a systematic review, we aim to review the evidence on the use of ECT in movement disorders. We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase to identify relevant publications. Fifty-eight papers were retained for data extraction. The existing evidence suggests a beneficial impact of ECT on both motor and nonmotor symptoms across various movement disorders, with the most substantial findings reported for Parkinson disease. Conversely, the evidence pertaining to Huntington disease and related disorders cannot rule out a potentially negative effect. Given that the data reviewed are constrained in both quantitative and qualitative rigor, predominantly derived from case reports, further research through the publication of case reports and the conduct of standardized clinical trials is warranted.