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A Neuroendocrine Study of the Mechanism of Action of ECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. P. Slade  and
S. A. Checkley
A. P. Slade
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5; Honorary Registrar, The London Hospital
S. A. Checkley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry; Honorary Consultant, Maudsley Hospital
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Summary

To test the possibility that the antidepressant action of ECT is due to an enhanced responsiveness to the stimulation of monoamine receptors, we have measured pituitary hormone responses to test doses of clonidine and methylamphetamine in depressed patients before and after a course of ECT.

There was no enhancement of the growth hormone response to either drug following a course of ECT. Cortisol responses to methylamphetamine were enhanced, but probably this was secondary to the partial or complete recovery of the patients. Further neuroendocrine studies of the mechanism of action of ECT in man are needed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 137 , Issue 3 , September 1980 , pp. 217 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1980 

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