Clinical Neuroscience of ECT (CNECT)

 "Classics in ECT" brings you this 1987 LTE from Lothar Kalinowsky: Lethal catatonia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Kalinowsky LB. Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Aug;144(8):1106-7. doi: 10.1176/ajp.144.8.1106. PMID:  3605438 The pdf is here . (This includes the Mann and Caroff reply) This is Kalinowsky's penultimate PubMed publication. He proposes an alternative name for lethal catatonia, "pernicious catatonia," since a good outcome may be achieved with timely ECT. He goes on to discuss the differential diagnosis of lethal catatonia and NMS; this argument is taken up in the reply LTE by Mann and Caroff. They opine that most, but not all, cases of NMS are distinguishable from "functional" lethal catatonia and that malignant hyperthermia is a different entity. I'm not sure if all aspects of the differential diagnosis debate have been settled by 2021; but I am sure that the catatonia experts will have comments.

  "Classics in ECT" brings you this 1987 paper from renowned researchers at the NIMH : Differential time course of antidepressant effects after sleep deprivation, ECT, and carbamazepine: clinical and theoretical implications. Post RM,  Uhde TW , Rubinow DR, Huggins T. Psychiatry Res. 1987 Sep;22(1):11-9. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(87)90045-x. PMID:  3659217 The abstract is copied below: The pattern and time course of antidepressant response to different treatment modalities provide important clinical information and hints about underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Depressed patients who responded to 1 night's sleep deprivation (11 of 33 patients) showed maximal improvement on day 1 and deterioration in mood thereafter. In contrast, slower onset and more sustained effects were observed following carbamazepine (12 of 37) or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (8 of 8). Nearly maximal improvement required about 2 weeks for ECT and 3 weeks for carbamazepine. Possible differential o