Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:18:57.910Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of mixed states in bipolar disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Marc Valentí
Affiliation:
Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Antoni Benabarre
Affiliation:
Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Margarita García-Amador
Affiliation:
Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Oriol Molina
Affiliation:
Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Miquel Bernardo
Affiliation:
Schizophrenia Clinic Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Eduard Vieta*
Affiliation:
Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBER-SAM, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
*
* Corresponding author. Bipolar Disorder Program, Institut Clínic de Neurociencies, Hospital Clinic, Universitat de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, Villarroel 170/Rossello 140, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Tel.: +34 93 2279876; fax: +34 93 2275477.
Get access

Abstract

Introduction

Mixed bipolar states are not infrequent and may be extremely difficult to treat. Lithium, anticonvulsants including valproate and carbamazepine, and antipsychotics such as olanzapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole have been reported to be at least partially effective in controlled clinical trials, but many patients do not respond to pharmacological approaches. Electroconvulsive therapy has been tested to be efficacious for the treatment of both manic and depressive episodes, but much less evidence is available with regards to mixed states. The aim of the review was to report the available evidence for the use of electroconvulsive therapy in mixed bipolar states.

Methods

A systematic review of the literature on treatment of mixed states, focused on electroconvulsive therapy, was made, beginning in August 1992 and ending in March 2007. The key words were “electroconvulsive therapy” and “mixed bipolar”.

Results

Only three studies met the required quality criteria and were included. This literature suggests that ECT is an effective, safe, and probably underutilized treatment of mixed states. Recent technical developments have made ECT more friendly, tolerable, and safe. Potential alternatives, such as vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation, or transcranial stimulation, are still far to be proved as effective as ECT.

Type
Review
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2008

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.)

References

Abrams, R.Electroconvulsive therapy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1992.Google ScholarPubMed
Benazzi, F.Bipolar disorder – focus on bipolar II disorder and mixed depression. Lancet 2007;369:935945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calabrese, J.R., Fatemi, S.H., Kujawa, M., Woyshville, M.J.Predictors of response to mood stabilizers. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1996;16:24S31S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calabrese, J.R., Woyshville, M.J., Kimmel, S.E., Rapport, D.J.Predictors of valproate response in bipolar rapid cycling. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1993;13:280283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ciapparelli, A., Dell'Osso, L., Tundo, A., Pini, S., Chiavacci, M.C., Di, S.I.et al.Electroconvulsive therapy in medication-nonresponsive patients with mixed mania and bipolar depression. J Clin Psychiatry 2001;62:552555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Devanand, D.P., Polanco, P., Cruz, R., Shah, S., Paykina, N., Singh, K.et al.The efficacy of ECT in mixed affective states. J ECT 2000;16:3237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fink, M.Convulsive therapy: theory and practice. New York: Raven Press; 1979.Google Scholar
Fink, M.ECT in therapy-resistant mania: does it have a place?. Bipolar Disord 2006;8:307309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gruber, N.P., Dilsaver, S.C., Shoaib, A.M., Swann, A.C.ECT in mixed affective states: a case series. J ECT 2000;16:183188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Medical Research Council, Clinical Psychiatry Committee Clinical trial of the treatment of depressive illness. Br Med J 1965;1:881886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philibert, R.A., Richards, L., Lynch, C.F., Winokur, G.Effect of ECT on mortality and clinical outcome in geriatric unipolar depression. J Clin Psychiatry 1995;56:390394.Google ScholarPubMed
Post, R.M.Non-lithium treatment for bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 1990;51(Suppl. 9–16):1719.Google ScholarPubMed
Post, R.M., Uhde, T.W., Roy-Byrne, P.P., Joffe, R.T.Correlates of antimanic response to carbamazepine. Psychiatry Res 1987;21:7183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prudic, J., Haskett, R.F., Mulsant, B., Malone, K.M., Pettinati, H.M., Stephens, S.et al.Resistance to antidepressant medications and short-term clinical response to ECT. Am J Psychiatry 1996;153:985992.Google ScholarPubMed
Small, J.G., Klapper, M.H., Kellams, J.J., Miller, M.J., Milstein, V., Sharpley, P.H.et al.Electroconvulsive treatment compared with lithium in the management of manic states. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988;45:727732.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vieta, E.Bipolar mixed states and their treatment. Expert Rev Neurother 2005;5:6368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vieta, E.The treatment of mixed states and the risk of switching to depression. Eur Psychiatry 2005;20:96100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vieta, E.Psychiatry: from interest in conflicts to conflicts of interest. World Psychiatry 2007;6:2729.Google ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.