If you wish, myDr can notify you via email when this article is updated. Your notification settings can be changed at anytime by updating your member profile.
This feature can only be used when you register. Not a myDr member? Register now, it's free and takes only a minute!
Here you can increase the font to your preferred size. This setting will be saved temporarily, however if you are a registered member, this can be saved into your personalised profile.
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).
