[Use of sleep deprivation for the purpose of treating protracted depressive states]

Sleep deprivation therapy was used in 30 patients with protracted, resistant depressive phases within the framework of manic-depressive psychosis. All patients demonstrated some improvement, which lasted from several hours up to 3 days. Changes in the state were mainly expressed in mood swings and to a less extent to the sphere of thinking and motor acts. A course of sleep deprivation (6-8 nights without sleep with an interval of 2-7 days) was administered to 19 patients, of them 7 patients demonstrated a stable improvement. Recording depressive symptomatology by the scale of intensity showed significant positive changes according to the following parameters: mood, thinking, motor acts, interests, sociability. The highest effect was seen in patients with melancholic pictures and significantly worse in depressive-anxious and depressive-obsessional syndromes.