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Enhanced Serotonergic Responsivity Following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Major Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Baruch Shapira ,
Bernard Lerer ,
Seth Kindler ,
Pesach Lichtenberg ,
Cornelius Gropp ,
Thomas Cooper  and
Avraham Calev
Baruch Shapira*
Affiliation:
Depression Treatment Unit, Ezrath Nashim Hospital, and Department of Psychiatry, Hebrew University, PO Box 140, Jerusalem, 91001, Israel
Bernard Lerer
Affiliation:
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, and Department of Psychiatry, Hebrew University
Seth Kindler
Affiliation:
Yaacov Herzog Center for Brain and Ezrath Nashim Hospital
Pesach Lichtenberg
Affiliation:
Ezrath Nashim Hospital
Cornelius Gropp
Affiliation:
Ezrath Nashim Hospital
Thomas Cooper
Affiliation:
Analytical Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
Avraham Calev
Affiliation:
Yaacov Herzog Center for Brain and Psychiatry Research, Ezrath Nashim Hospital
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Prolactin release in response to fenfluramine hydrochloride (60 mg orally) and placebo was evaluated in 18 medication-free patients with RDC major depressive disorder, endogenous subtype, before and after a series of bilateral treatments with ECT. Before ECT, fenfluramine induced a twofold increase in plasma prolactin levels. This response was significantly enhanced after the ECT series, while baseline prolactin levels and response to the placebo challenge were not altered. There was no significant difference in plasma fenfluramine and norfenfluramine levels during the pre- and post-ECT challenges. These findings suggest that ECT enhances central serotonergic responsivity and extend to depressed patients pre-clinical observations regarding the effect of electroconvulsive shock on serotonergic function.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 2 , February 1992 , pp. 223 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1992 

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