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ECT effective against severe depression

14 March 2003

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective in treating adults with severe depression, a systematic review confirms.

There was reasonable evidence for ECT, and its use was not based merely on anecdote, habit and tradition, UK researchers said.

Bilateral ECT (applied to both sides of the head) was moderately more effective than unilateral ECT (applied to one side of the head), and high-dose better than low-dose, but there is no one formula suitable for all people.

There is no direct evidence that ECT prevented suicide and limited evidence for ECT in the elderly and in women with postnatal depression, the researchers said (Lancet 2003; 361: 799-808).


 

Reproduced with kind permission from Medical Observer Weekly.
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Last Reviewed: 17 March 2003

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