Clinical Neuroscience of ECT (CNECT)

Out on PubMed, from investigators in Australia, is this study: Quality of written informed consent forms for  electroconvulsive  therapy in Australia: a comparative analysis. Jagadheesan K, Walker F, Lakra V. Australas Psychiatry. 2021 May 3:10398562211009243. doi: 10.1177/10398562211009243. Online ahead of print. PMID:  33939933 The abstract is copied below: Objectives: We compared the quality of the written informed consent forms for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Australian jurisdictions. Method: For this comparative audit-type study, a checklist was developed to compare informed consent forms from different jurisdictions. The main information sources for consent forms were government health department websites and Google. The directors of clinical services were contacted if a consent form was not available through a web source. Results: Majority of the informed consent forms covered information about ECT, general anaesthesia and alternative treatments, supports available for de

 Out on PubMed, from researchers in Christchurch, New Zealand, is this paper: Development of an autobiographical memory test for older electroconvulsive therapy candidates. Allan D, Croucher M, Gee S, Porter R. Australas Psychiatry. 2021 Apr;29(2):214-217. doi: 10.1177/10398562211003599. PMID:  33825553 The abstract is copied below: Objectives: To develop a test of autobiographical memory for monitoring of older people during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Method: A list of events commonly experienced in later life was gathered from older people (n = 26) at a psychogeriatric day clinic and from psychiatrists (n = 23) who work with older depressed patients. The most common events were chosen as question domains for an autobiographical memory interview. This was piloted with 12 severely depressed older patients. Results: A list of 15 common life events was developed. After pilot testing, a final 30-item questionnaire covering six common life events was proposed. Conclusion:

 Out on PubMed is this case report from clinicians in Belgium: [Repetitive inappropriate sexual behaviour as a symptom of agitated depression: catatonic stereotypy?]. Boonen I, de Velde NV, Tandt H, De Smul C, Lemmens G. Tijdschr Psychiatr. 2021;63(4):301-304. PMID:  33913147   Dutch Some of the text, translated by Google: Patient A, a 55-year-old woman with bipolar disorder, was hospitalized with a depression with psychotic features and catatonia. They had a first depressive episode (with psychotic characteristics) at the age of 53. This was followed by a hypomanic episode and a second depressive episode with psychotic and catatonic characteristics that are successful was treated with ECT. Patient was taking at the start of admission the following medication: lithium carbonate 750 mg daily, trazodone 200 mg daily and estradiol valerate 2 mg daily. In addition, the patient also took 8 mg lorazepam daily because of suspected catatonia. The current depressive episode was characterized by

Out on PubMed, from researchers in Lithuania, is this paper: Brain stimulation effects on serum BDNF, VEGF, and TNFα in treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders. Valiuliene G, Valiulis V, Dapsys K, Vitkeviciene A, Gerulskis G, Navakauskiene R, Germanavicius A. Eur J Neurosci. 2021 Apr 16. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15232. Online ahead of print. PMID:  33861484 The abstract is copied below: Resistance to pharmacological treatment poses a notable challenge for psychiatry. Such cases are usually treated with brain stimulation techniques, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Empirical evidence links treatment resistance to insufficient brain plasticity and chronic inflammation. Therefore, this study encompasses analysis of neurotrophic and inflammatory factors in psychiatric patients undergoing rTMS and ECT in order to refine the selection of patients and predict clinical outcomes. This study enrolled 25 drug-resistant depressive patient

Out on Pubmed, from researchers in Denmark,  in JECT, is this study Long-Term Risk of Developing Dementia After Electroconvulsive Therapy for Affective Disorders. Hjerrild S, Kahlert J, Buchholtz PE, Rosenberg R, Videbech P. J ECT. 2021 Apr 26. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000770. Online ahead of print. PMID:  33907075 The abstract is copied below: Objectives: Severe depression is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, however, whether treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) modify this risk remains unknown. Methods: In this matched cohort study, 1089 consecutive in-patients with affective disorders, receiving ECT during the period 1982 to 2000, were matched with 3011 in-patients with affective disorders not treated with ECT (non-ECT), and 108,867 individuals randomly selected from the background population. The comparison cohorts were matched on sex, age, and the non-ECT cohort was further matched according to diagnoses and admission period and hospital. Dement

 Out on PubMed, in Psychiatry Research,  from researchers in Chongqing, China is this study: Inhibition of CB1 receptor alleviates electroconvulsive shock-induced memory impairment by regulating hippocampal synaptic plasticity in depressive rats. Yu J, Ren L, Min S, Lv F, Luo J, Li P, Zhang Y. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Apr 3;300:113917. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113917. Online ahead of print. PMID:  33848965 The abstract is copied below: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for depression, but it can cause cognitive deficit. Unfortunately, effective preventive measures are still lacking. The endocannabinoid system is thought to play a key role in regulation of cognitive process. Whether the endocannabinoid system is involved in the learning and memory impairment caused by ECS remain unclear. In this work, we first found that cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) were strongly expressed in hippocampus by electroconvulsive s