I have alway been surprised by how little attention has been paid to the pharmacological modification of the cognitive profile of ECT. This new study is a clinical trial of two agents administered during an acute course of ECT:
Comparison of the efficacy and safety of melatonin and memantine in the alleviation of cognitive impairments induced by electroconvulsive therapy: A randomized clinical trial
These authors report a beneficial effect of memantine (trade name: Namenda, an NMDA receptor antagonist), but given the many methodological shortcomings of this study, not much weight can be attached to these findings. Rather, the main point is that this is an understudied area, with good potential to improve the tolerability profile of ECT. I always thought that the old finding of thyroid supplements decreasing the cognitive effects of ECT was particularly interesting.
Later this year, some European colleagues and I hope to publish a systematic review of this topic.
Comparison of the efficacy and safety of melatonin and memantine in the alleviation of cognitive impairments induced by electroconvulsive therapy: A randomized clinical trial
Sarraf N, et al. J Clin Neurosci 2020. PMID 32081599
Here is the url for the pdf:
Here is the url for the pdf:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14sSKoeOSGPt_ZeLm4Y7hNhs1qzkHMJOu/view?usp=sharing
Later this year, some European colleagues and I hope to publish a systematic review of this topic.
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