ECT For Persons With Intellectual Disability: New Review From Germany

 Out on PubMed, from authors in germany, is this study:


Electroconvulsive therapy in people with intellectual disability].

Guhra M, Kreisel SH, Zilles-Wegner D, Sartorius A, Sappok T, Freundlieb N.Nervenarzt. 2024 Aug 21. doi: 10.1007/s00115-024-01713-6. Online ahead of print.PMID: 39240313 Review. German
The abstract is copied below:

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment option for severe mental illness. Although people with intellectual disability (ID) have similar prevalence rates of mental disorders in comparison to the general population their access to ECT remains challenging. A systematic literature review was carried out on treatment with ECT in patients with ID and a case report on a patient with ID who underwent ECT is presented, to highlight a typical clinical routine. A total of 100 articles with 208 different case reports were retrieved. In summary, the results underline the effectiveness of ECT in people with ID, with side effects comparable to those in the general population. The ECT is effective in the treatment of severe affective and psychotic disorders and particularly in people with catatonia. The use of ECT can improve the patient's mental health and quality of life and is often a life-saving treatment option. The prophylaxis of relapses should be included as early as possible in the planning process. Providing an easy access to ECT treatment for people with ID is corroborated by its effectiveness and is in line with the right to equal treatment in accordance with article 25 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Catatonia; Electroconvulsive therapy; Intellectual disability; Mental disorder.

The article is here.
And from the text:




Here is a carefully compiled review of an important, but largely neglected, topic.
The literature review is comprehensive and the discussion of barriers to access well considered.
I chose not to Google translate the entire article from the German, since the abstract is very informative.
Kudos to these authors for an important contribution to the ECT literature.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Early Use of the Name "ECT"- Sacklers in 1949

Image
 "Classics in ECT" brings you this study from Creedmore State Hospital in 1949: Nonconvulsive biochemotherapy with histamine and electric convulsive therapy; a comparative study on hospitalized psychotics with a control  ECT  series. SACKLER AM, SACKLER MD, SACKLER RR. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1949 Sep;110(3):185-97. doi: 10.1097/00005053-194911030-00001. PMID:  18138865 The pdf is here . I originally choose this article as the earliest in PubMed to use the name, "ECT," although it also uses "electric [sic] convulsive therapy."  The very first PubMed "ECT" citation is from 1947, but it is written "E.C.T." and also reports a complication, so we prefer this one. Nomenclature aside, this turns out to be an interesting read, with what would now be considered a somewhat bizarre study comparing histamine therapy with ECT. Among the interesting details are the inclusion of a couple of patients with postpartum psychosis and the observation that longer
Read more

ECT For Children at a University Hospital: New Study in JECT

Image
 Out on PubMed, from authors at Vanderbilt and Mass General,, is this article: Use of   ECT   for Children With and Without Catatonia: A Single-Site Retrospective Analysis. Smith JR, Baldwin I, Termini KA, McGonigle T, Vandekar S, Luccarelli J. J ECT. 2024 Jan 25. doi: 10.1097/YCT.0000000000000993. Online ahead of print. PMID:  38265759 The abstract is copied below: Objectives: The objective study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in a retrospective cohort of pediatric patients. Methods: A single-site retrospective analysis was conducted of patients aged younger than 18 years who received ECT in a private university hospital from January 28, 2012 to April 8, 2023. Treatment efficacy and adverse events were determined retrospectively through review of the medical record. Results: A total of 36 pediatric patients met the inclusion criteria. Catatonia was the most common presenting indication for ECT, followed by psychosis and suicidal ideation.
Read more

Effect of VNS on Maintenance Treatments: New Study Secondary Analyses

Image
Out on PubMed, from authors in Germany and Australia, is this paper:  Impact of Adjunctive VNS on Drug Load, Depression Severity, and Number of Neuromodulatory Maintenance Treatments. Kavakbasi E, Bauermeister H, Lemcke L, Baune BT. Brain Sci. 2024 Feb 4;14(2):159. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14020159. PMID:  38391733 The abstract is copied below: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a long-term adjunctive treatment option in patients with difficult-to-treat depression (DTD). A total of n = 20 patients (mean age 52.6 years) were included in the multicenter, prospective, observational, naturalistic RESTORE-LIFE study and were treated with adjunctive VNS as an add-on to treatment as usual . Exploratory and secondary outcome parameters from a single center were investigated for this present analysis. The overall mean drug load slightly decreased from 4.5 at baseline to 4.4 at 12 months (Z = -0.534, p = 0.594). The drug load was lower in previous electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) responders than in non
Read more