Clinical Neuroscience of ECT (CNECT)

 Out on PubMed, from authors in Austria and the USA, is this paper: Relative effectiveness of antidepressant treatments in treatment-resistant depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Saelens J, Gramser A, Watzal V, Zarate CA Jr, Lanzenberger R, Kraus C. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Dec 30. doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-02044-5. Online ahead of print. PMID:  39739012 The abstract is copied below: T his systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) sought to compare different antidepressant treatments for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in order to facilitate evidence-based choices. A literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase from inception until April 13th, 2023 identified randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) of adults with depression who had not responded to at least two antidepressant trials; all RCTs had ≥10 participants per study arm, and participants with bipolar or psychotic depression were excluded....

 From OpenEvidence, comes the answer to this question: ============================================================================ Here is an answer from AI that gets at the issue of the size of the clinical experiential evidence base for ECT. A VERY big number. (NB: when I went back a few minutes later with the same question, the answer was still "millions" but not this 30 million estimate. In any case, we have this original answer, and whatever the estimate, it is a VERY large number.)

 Out on PubMed, from authors in Norway, is this study: Effects of  Electroconvulsive   Therapy on Brain Structure - a Neuroradiological Investigation into White Matter Hyperintensities, Atrophy, and Microbleeds. Erchinger VJ, Evjenth Sørhaug OJ, Aukland SM, Moen G, Schuster PM, Ersland L, Grüner R, Oedegaard KJ, Kessler U, Ousdal OT, Oltedal L. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Dec 18:S2451-9022(24)00380-X. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.004. Online ahead of print. PMID:  39706259 The abstract is copied below: Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established treatment for severe depression, yet it remains stigmatized due to public perceptions linking it with brain injury. Despite extensive research, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ECT are not fully elucidated. Recent findings suggest that ECT may work through disrupting depression circuitry. However, whether ECT is associated with neuroradiological correlates of brain injury, in...