ECT in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

doi:10.1017/9781911623175.012

Chapter 12 - ECT in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 June 2019

Jasvinder Singh and

David Andrew Cousins

Edited by

I. Nicol Ferrier and

Jonathan Waite

Show author details

I. Nicol Ferrier: Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Jonathan Waite: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has long been used in the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and continues to be a valuable option for a variety of conditions. The range of conditions for which ECT has been used is broad, but in many instances there is a common indication such as the treatment of psychosis, depression or catatonia occurring in conjunction with the primary neuropsychiatric presentation. Substantial, systematically acquired data supports the use of ECT in the functional psychoses (as set out in Chapters 3–11) but the complexity of additional underlying pathology prevents simple inferences being made about the efficacy of ECT in neuropsychiatric conditions. Regrettably, the evidence for ECT as a treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders is generally low grade, mostly comprising case reports, case series and retrospective and observational studies rather than double-blind randomised controlled trials.

Type: Chapter
Information: The ECT Handbook , pp. 96 - 108

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781911623175.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Acharya, D., Harper, D. G., Achtyes, E. D., et al. 2015. Safety and utility of acute electroconvulsive therapy for agitation and aggression in dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30, 265–73.Google Scholar

Aftab, A., Vandercar, A., Alkhachroum, A., Lagrotta, C. & Gao, K. 2018. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus after electroconvulsive therapy: a review of literature. Psychosomatics, 59, 36–46.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Alper, K., Schwartz, K. A., Kolts, R. L. & Khan, A. 2007. Seizure incidence in psychopharmacological clinical trials: an analysis of food and drug administration (FDA) summary basis of approval reports. Biological Psychiatry, 62, 345–54.Google Scholar

Andersen, K., Balldin, J., Gottfries, C. G., et al. 1987. A double-blind evaluation of electroconvulsive-therapy in Parkinsons-disease with on-off phenomena. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 76, 191–9.Google Scholar

Bang, J., Price, D., Prentice, G. & Campbell, J. 2008. ECT treatment for two cases of dementia-related pathological yelling. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 20, 379–80.Google Scholar

Beale, M. D., Kellner, C. H., Gurecki, P. & Pritchett, J. T. 1997. ECT for the treatment of Huntington’s disease: a case study. Convulsive Therapy, 13, 108–12.Google Scholar PubMed

Bica, B., Moro, A. L. D., Hax, V., et al. 2015. Electroconvulsive therapy as a treatment for refractory neuropsychiatric lupus with catatonia: three case studies and literature review. Lupus, 24, 1327–31.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Borisovskaya, A., Bryson, W. C., Buchholz, J., Samii, A. & Borson, S. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy for depression in Parkinson’s disease: systematic review of evidence and recommendations. Neurodegenerative Disease Management, 6, 161–76.Google Scholar

Calderon-Fajardo, H., Cervantes-Arriaga, A., Llorens-Arenas, R., Ramirez-Bermudez, J., Ruiz-Chow, A. & Rodriguez-Violante, M. 2015. Electroconvulsive therapy in Parkinson’s disease. Arquivos De Neuro-Psiquiatria, 73, 856–60.Google Scholar

Chang, A. & Fox, S. H. 2016. Psychosis in Parkinson’s disease: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management. Drugs, 76, 1093–118.Google Scholar PubMed

Coffey, M. J. & Cooper, J. J. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy in Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis: a case report and review of the literature. Journal of ECT, 32, 225–9.Google Scholar

Cristancho, P., Jewkes, D., Mon, T. & Conway, C. 2014. Successful use of right unilateral ECT for catatonia: a case series. Journal of ECT, 30, 69–72.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Cumper, S. K., Ahle, G. M., Liebman, L. S. & Kellner, C. H. 2014. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Parkinson’s disease: ECS and dopamine enhancement. Journal of ECT, 30, 122–24.Google Scholar

Cusin, C., Franco, F. B., Fernandez-Robles, C., Dubois, C. M. & Welch, C. A. 2013. Rapid improvement of depression and psychotic symptoms in Huntington’s disease: a retrospective chart review of seven patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy. General Hospital Psychiatry, 35.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

de Silva, V. A., Lakmini, W. D., Gunawardena, H. N. & Hanwella, R. 2013. Chronic catatonia treated with electroconvulsive therapy: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 7, 219–219.Google Scholar

Dessens, F. M., van Paassen, J., van Westerloo, D. J., van der Wee, N. J., van Vliet, I. M. & van Noorden, M. S. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy in the intensive care unit for the treatment of catatonia: a case series and review of the literature. General Hospital Psychiatry, 38, 37–41.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Divac, N., Stojanovic, R., Vujovic, K. S., Medic, B., Damjanovic, A. & Prostran, M. 2016. The efficacy and safety of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of psychosis in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Behavioural Neurology. doi: 10.1155/2016/4938154. Epub 2016 Jul 18.Google Scholar

Ecker, D., Unrath, A., Kassubek, J. & Sabolek, M. 2009. Dopamine agonists and their risk to induce psychotic episodes in Parkinson’s disease: a case-control study. BMC Neurology, 9.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Factor, S. A., Molho, E. S. & Brown, D. L. 1995. Combined clozapine and electroconvulsive-therapy for the treatment of drug-induced psychosis in parkinsons-disease. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 7, 304–7.Google Scholar

Fenelon, G. 2008. Psychosis on Parkinson’s disease: Phenomenology, frequency, risk factors, and current understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms. CNS Spectrums, 13, 18–25.Google Scholar

Gadit, A. M. & Smigas, T. 2012. Efficacy of ECT in severe obsessive compulsive disorder with Parkinson’s disease. BMJ Case Reports. https://casereports.bmj.com/content/2012/bcr.01.2012.5675 Google Scholar

Glass, O. M., Forester, B. P. & Hermida, A. P. 2017. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treating agitation in dementia (major neurocognitive disorder) – a promising option. International Psychogeriatrics, 29, 717–26.Google Scholar

Harmandayan, M., Romanowicz, M. & Sola, C. 2012. Successful use of ECT in post-stroke depression. General Hospital Psychiatry, 34, 102.e5–6.Google Scholar

Hausner, L., Damian, M., Sartorius, A. & Frolich, L. 2011. Efficacy and cognitive side effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depressed elderly inpatients with coexisting mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72, 91–7.Google Scholar PubMed

Hawkins, J. M., Archer, K. J., Strakowski, S. M. & Keck, P. E. 1995. Somatic treatment of catatonia. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 25, 345–69.Google Scholar

Kant, R., Bogyi, A. M., Carosella, N. W., Fishman, E., Kane, V. & Coffey, C. E. 1995. ECT as a therapeutic option in severe brain injury. Convulsive Therapy, 11, 45–50.Google Scholar PubMed

Katagai, H., Yasui-Furukori, N., Kikuchi, A. & Kaneko, S. 2007. Effective electroconvulsive therapy in a 92-year-old dementia patient with psychotic feature. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 61, 568–70.Google Scholar

Kennedy, R., Mittal, D. & O’ Jile, J. 2003. Electroconvulsive therapy in movement disorders: An update. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 15, 407–21.Google Scholar

Kugler, J. L., Hauptman, A. J., Collier, S. J., et al. 2015. Treatment of catatonia with ultrabrief right unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: a case series. Journal of ECT, 31, 192–6.Google Scholar

Lambrecq, V., Villega, F., Marchal, C., et al. 2012. Refractory status epilepticus: Electroconvulsive therapy as a possible therapeutic strategy. Seizure-European Journal of Epilepsy, 21, 661–4.Google Scholar

Lee, J., Arcand, L., Narang, P. & Lippmann, S. 2014. ECT-induced mania. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 11, 27–9.Google Scholar

Lunde, M. E., Lee, E. K. & Rasmussen, K. G. 2006. Electroconvulsive therapy in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior, 9, 355–9.Google Scholar

Martino, C., Krysko, M., Petrides, G., Tobias, K. G. & Kellner, C. H. 2008. Cognitive tolerability of electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with a history of traumatic brain injury. Journal of ECT, 24, 92–5.Google Scholar

Murray, G. B., Shea, V. & Conn, D. K. 1986. Electroconvulsive-therapy for poststroke depression. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 47, 258–60.Google Scholar PubMed

Nasr, S., Murillo, A., Katariwala, N., Mothkur, V. & Wendt, B. 2011. Case report of electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with Parkinson’s disease concomitant with deep brain stimulation. Journal of ECT, 27, 89–90.Google Scholar

Nasr, Y. & Ganapathy, R. 2015. Treatment resistant catatonia secondary to clozapine withdrawal. Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, 19, 17–19.CrossRef Google Scholar

Nielsen, R. M., Olsen, K. S., Lauritsen, A. O. & Boesen, H. C. 2014. Electroconvulsive therapy as a treatment for protracted refractory delirium in the intensive care unit-Five cases and a review. Journal of Critical Care, 29.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Nishioka, K., Tanaka, R., Shimura, H., et al. 2014. Quantitative evaluation of electroconvulsive therapy for Parkinson’s disease with refractory psychiatric symptoms. Journal of Neural Transmission, 121, 1405–10.Google Scholar

Palm, U., Ayache, S. S., Padberg, F. & Lefaucheur, J. P. 2014. Non-invasive brain stimulation therapy in multiple sclerosis: a review of tDCS, rTMS and ECT results. Brain Stimulation, 7, 849–54.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Pigato, G., Roiter, B., Cecchin, D., et al. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with chronic catatonia clinical outcomes and cerebral (18)F fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography findings. Journal of ECT, 32, 222–3.Google Scholar

Pintor, L. P., Valldeoriola, F., Fernandez-Egea, E., et al. 2012. Use of electroconvulsive therapy in Parkinson disease with residual axial symptoms partially unresponsive to L-Dopa: a pilot study. Journal of ECT, 28, 87–91.Google Scholar

Pollak, P., Destee, A., Lille, C. H. U., et al. Clozapine parkinson study, G. 1999. Clozapine in drug-induced psychosis in Parkinson’s disease. Lancet, 353, 2041–2.Google Scholar

Pontikes, T. K. & Dinwiddie, S. H. 2010. Electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with multiple sclerosis and recurrent catatonia. Journal of ECT, 26, 270–1.Google Scholar

Pridmore, S., Lowrie, A., Holmes, G. & Pollard, C. 1996. ECT in Parkinson’s disease: neuropsychological response. Convulsive Therapy, 12, 257–9.Google Scholar PubMed

Ranen, N. G., Peyser, C. E. & Folstein, S. E. 1994. ECT as a treatment for depression in Huntingtons-disease. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 6, 154–9.Google Scholar

Rao, V. & Lyketsos, C. G. 2000. The benefits and risks of ECT for patients with primary dementia who also suffer from depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, 729–35.Google Scholar

Raveendranathan, D., Narayanaswamy, J. C. & Reddi, S. V. 2012. Response rate of catatonia to electroconvulsive therapy and its clinical correlates. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 262, 425–30.Google Scholar

Romanowicz, M., Sutor, B. & Sola, C. 2012. Safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy for depression following cerebrovascular accident. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 24, 226–9.Google Scholar

Ronaldson, K. J., Fitzgerald, P. B. & Mcneil, J. J. 2015. Clozapine-induced myocarditis, a widely overlooked adverse reaction. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 132, 231–40.Google Scholar

Sackeim, H. A. 1999. The anticonvulsant hypothesis of the mechanisms of action of ECT: Current status. Journal of ECT, 15, 5–26.Google Scholar

Steen, K., Narang, P. & Lippmann, S. 2015. Electroconvulsive therapy in Multiple Sclerosis. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 12, 28–30.Google Scholar

Strawn, J. R., Keck, P. E. & Caroff, S. N. 2007. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 870–6.Google Scholar

Takahashi, S., Mizukami, K., Yasuno, F. & Asada, T. 2009. Depression associated with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and the effect of somatotherapy. Psychogeriatrics, 9, 56–61.Google Scholar

Tang, Y. L., Hermida, A. P., Ha, K., Laddha, S. R. & McDonald, W. M. 2014. Efficacy and safety of ECT for behavioral and psychological symptoms of Dementia (BPSD): a retrospective chart review. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, S114–S115.Google Scholar

Tang, V. M., Pasricha, A. N., Blumberger, D. M., et al. 2017. Should benzodiazepines and anticonvulsants be used during electroconvulsive therapy? A case study and literature review. Journal of ECT, 33, 237–42.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Thomas, A. A. & Friedman, J. H. 2010. Current use of clozapine in Parkinson disease and related disorders. Clinical Neuropharmacology, 33, 14–16.Google Scholar

Trollor, J. N. & Sachdev, P. S. 1999. Electroconvulsive treatment of neuroleptic malignant syndrome: a review and report of cases. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 33, 650–9.Google Scholar

Ueda, S., Koyama, K. & Okubo, Y. 2010. Marked improvement of psychotic symptoms after electroconvulsive therapy in Parkinson disease. Journal of ECT, 26, 111–15.Google Scholar

Ujkaj, M., Davidoff, D. A., Seiner, S. J., Ellison, J. M., Harper, D. G. & Forester, B. P. 2012. Safety and efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of agitation and aggression in patients with Dementia. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 61–72.Google Scholar

Unal, A., Bulbul, F., Alpak, G., Virit, O., Copoglu, U. S. & Savas, H. A. 2013. Effective treatment of catatonia by combination of benzodiazepine and electroconvulsive therapy. Journal of ECT, 29, 206–9.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Usui, C., Hatta, K., Doi, N., et al. 2011. Improvements in both psychosis and motor signs in Parkinson’s disease, and changes in regional cerebral blood flow after electroconvulsive therapy. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 35, 1704–8.Google Scholar

van den Berg, K. S., Marijnissen, R. M. & van Waarde, J. A. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy as a powerful treatment for delirium: a case report. Journal of ECT, 32, 65–6.Google Scholar

Wadekar, M. & Syed, S. 2010. Clozapine-withdrawal catatonia. Psychosomatics, 51, 355–U126.Google Scholar

Weintraub, D., Chiang, C., Kim, H. M., et al. 2016. Association of antipsychotic use with mortality risk in patients with Parkinson disease. Jama Neurology, 73, 535–41.Google Scholar

Williams, N. R., Bentzley, B. S., Sahlem, G. L., et al. 2017. Unilateral ultra-brief pulse electroconvulsive therapy for depression in Parkinson’s disease. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 135, 407–11.Google Scholar

Zeiler, F. A., Matuszczak, M., Teitelbaum, J., Gillman, L. M. & Kazina, C. J. 2016. Electroconvulsive therapy for refractory status epilepticus: a systematic review. Seizure-European Journal of Epilepsy, 35, 23–32.Google Scholar

Zhang, Q. E., Sha, S., Ungvari, G. S., et al. 2016. Demographic and clinical profile of patients with dementia receiving electroconvulsive therapy: a case-control study. Journal of ECT, 32, 183–6.Google Scholar