Depression Shock Treatments

Shock treatments, clinically called electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), send electric waves into a patient's head in order to treat severe depression. The practice has been in use since the 1930s. Although how it works is not completely understood, it is believed that the therapy causes the brain to reset negative thought patterns. Using the humane practices of the early 21st century, shock therapy has been proved to be a significantly effective treatment for those suffering from severe depression.

History

• The theory behind shock therapy was developed in the 1930s by Ugo Cerletti. The concept that convulsions could help to heal mental illnesses had been around for decades. The convulsions had previously been brought on by doses of insulin or chemical treatments. Cerletti and his colleagues were the first to consider electric shock as a viable alternative to chemical methods. Electroshock therapy was first used on humans in 1938. Unlike the chemical alternatives, no antidote was needed to stop the convulsions. Researchers found that the shocks also removed a tiny section of short-term memory, erasing the memory of the shock itself in many cases. Unlike previous therapies, shock was able to avoid the negative feelings that would otherwise be associated with similar types of treatment. It was used widely during the following decades, until it fell out of favor among ethical concerns in the 1970s.

Modern Day Use

• The early 21st century saw a resurgence in the use of shock therapy. For reasons that doctors don't quite understand, the shock therapy of today has a reported 75 percent to 80 percent success rate at curing severe depression for a period of time up to several months immediately following the treatments. A typical treatment begins with sedation. An anesthesiologist puts the patient into a light sleep with major muscle relaxation. Electricity is run into the patient's head for about 20 to 90 seconds, which results in a seizure. The patient wakes about half an hour to an hour later with a short period of grogginess before returning to regular wakefulness.

How it Works

• Doctors do not fully understand how the seizures help a person. The best guess is that they somehow "reset" emotional mechanisms in the brain and allow it to start fresh. Physical side effects are easily manageable with medications and range from headaches and muscle aches to an upset stomach. The most severe side effect is memory loss. It appears that the mental "rebooting" erases some memory along with the negative emotions. For the most part, these memories are recovered over time. The initial 75 percent to 80 percent success rate drops off after several months, with about 60 percent of those who are given follow-up treatments and psychiatric medications remaining free of severe depression. The prognosis for those with no continuing treatment is quite grim, with only 16 percent remaining symptom free. Shock therapy is largely seen as a strong tool to be used as part of comprehensive treatment.