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Prognostic Factors in the Electro-Shock Treatment of Depressive States
II.—The Application of Specific Tests
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 February 2018
Extract
During the past ten years varying degrees of prognostic value have been claimed, directly or indirectly, for a number of specific factors in connection with the treatment of depressive illnesses by E.C.T. These have included the blood pressure responses to adrenaline and methacholine (Funkenstein et al., 1948, 1950); the “sedation threshold” to intravenous sodium amylobarbitone (Shagass, 1954; Shagass and Jones, 1958); EEG changes under thiopentone following electroshock (Roth, 1951; Roth et al., 1957); and psychological tests based on items derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Pearson, 1950; Feldman, 1957, 1958; Welsh, 1952). Other studies have been made on the prognostic value of adrenocortical activity (Faure et al., 1957); serum calcium levels (Gour and Chaudhry, 1957); the “amytal test” (Kahn et al., 1956); and the administration of methylamphetamine (“methedrine”) (Rudolf, 1956). Some of the techniques employed appear too complicated or unreliable in their interpretation to be of any practical clinical value, although a few are of great theoretical value in the contributions to further knowledge of the rationale of E.C.T.
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