An Overview On Electroconvulsive Therapy For Mental Health Problems.

: Admin : 2022-06-06

What is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical treatment that is most usually used in individuals who have not responded to conventional therapies for severe major depression or bipolar disorder.

While the patient is sedated, ECT includes a short electrical stimulation of the brain. It is usually provided by a team of skilled medical professionals consisting of a psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist.

Does ECT Work?

Extensive research has shown that ECT is extremely successful for the treatment of serious depression. Clinical data suggests that ECT will generate significant improvement in around 80% of people with simple but severe major depression. Other severe mental diseases, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are also treated with it. Catatonia, a disorder in which a person becomes progressively agitated and unresponsive, is occasionally treated with ECT. Catatonia may cause major injury or severe dehydration if the individual does not eat or drink.

When other therapies, including medicines and psychotherapy, have failed, ECT is often used. ECT is also used for people who require a rapid treatment response because of the severity of their condition, such as being at risk for suicide.

Although ECT may be quite successful for many people suffering from severe mental illnesses, it is not a cure. Most persons who have had ECT must continue with some kind of maintenance therapy to avoid relapse. This usually entails counseling and/or medication, as well as, in some cases, continuous ECT treatments.

What are the Procedures for Receiving ECT?

A full mental evaluation, including a medical checkup, basic blood tests, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor heart health, should be performed before initiating a series of ECT treatments.

Another critical component of the process is informed consent. Before receiving ECT, a patient must give written informed permission. When a person is unable to make choices for himself or herself due to illness, the consent procedure is controlled by state law.

Before making a treatment selection, patients and their families should consider all therapy alternatives with the psychiatrist. Before obtaining written permission, they should be given enough information to fully comprehend the procedure as well as the possible advantages, risks, and side effects of each treatment choice.

ECT is normally administered two or three times per week for a total of six to twelve sessions, depending on the severity of the symptoms and how fast they react to the therapy.

A patient is given general anesthesia and a muscle relaxant before each treatment, and electrodes are connected to the scalp in exact areas. A quick regulated sequence of electrical pulses is used to stimulate the patient's brain. This creates a seizure inside the brain that lasts around a minute. As with minor surgery, the patient is unconscious throughout the process and wakes after 5-10 minutes.

What are the risks and advantages?

ECT, like any medical technique, has certain dangers. Short-term memory loss and trouble learning have been linked to ECT therapy. Some people have difficulty recalling events that happened in the weeks before the therapy or earlier. Memory issues usually improve after a few months. Some patients may develop long-term issues, such as chronic memory gaps.

The risks of general anesthesia, which is required for ECT, are comparable to the risks of other types of anesthesia, such as minor surgery. On the day of treatment, the most frequent adverse effects of ECT include nausea, headache, exhaustion, disorientation, and minor memory loss, which may last minutes to hours.

These risks must be evaluated against the implications of untreated serious psychological illnesses. For certain people, the hazards of ECT may be lower than the risks of continued pharmaceutical therapy. ECT may be more effective than medicines. It is particularly beneficial if a patient is suicidal, is not responding to drugs, or cannot handle prescription side effects.

Treatments for Brain Stimulation

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is used to treat depression when conventional treatments have failed. The use of rapidly alternating magnetic fields to activate particular parts of the brain is involved. TMS, unlike ECT, does not induce seizures and the patient stays conscious during the noninvasive procedure. TMS usually causes very minor side effects such as headaches, muscular twitching, and soreness at the stimulation site. TMS is typically given four or five times per week for four to six weeks.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) was originally intended to treat seizure disorders, but it may also be used to treat depression that has not responded to conventional treatments. It entails implanting an electrical pulse generator beneath the patient's skin in the chest, which delivers intermittent electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve in the neck.