Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T08:29:34.619Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Nottingham ECT Study

A Double-Blind Comparison of Bilateral, Unilateral and Simulated ECT in Depressive Illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

S. Gregory ,
C. R. Shawcross  and
D. Gill
S. Gregory*
Affiliation:
Mapperley Hospital, Nottingham
C. R. Shawcross
Affiliation:
Knowle Hospital, Fareham, Hants
D. Gill
Affiliation:
Mapperley Hospital, Nottingham
*
∗Correspondence.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Sixty nine patients took part in a double-blind study to investigate the efficacy of bilateral, unilateral, and simulated ECT in the treatment of depressive illness. The findings suggest that both bilateral and unilateral ECT are highly effective treatments for depression and are significantly superior to simulated ECT. There was also evidence that patients receiving bilateral ECT recovered more rapidly than those receiving unilateral ECT and required significantly fewer treatments. The relevance of these findings to clinical practice is discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 5 , May 1985 , pp. 520 - 524
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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., Taylor, M. A., Faber, R., Ts'O, T. O. T., Williams, R. A. & Almy, G. (1983) Bilateral versus unilateral electroconvulsive therapy: efficacy in melancholia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 463–465.Google Scholar
Annett, M., Hudson, P. T. W., & Turner, A. (1974) Effects of right and left unilateral ECT on the naming and visual discrimination analyzed in relation to handedness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 260–264.Google Scholar
Brandon, S., Cowley, P., McDonald, C., Neville, P., Palmer, R., & Wellstood-Eason, S. (1984) Electroconvulsive therapy: results in depressive illness from the Leicestershire trial. British Medical Journal, 288, 22–25.Google Scholar
Brumback, R. A. (1983) EEG monitoring of ECT. (Letter). British Journal of Psychiatry. 142, 104–105.Google Scholar
Christensen, P. & Koldbaek, I. B. (1982) EEG monitored ECT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 19–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Elia, G. & Raotma, H. (1975) Is unilateral ECT less effective than bilateral ECT? British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 83–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fahy, H., Imlah, H. & Harrington, J. (1963) A controlled comparison of electroconvulsive therapy, imipramine and thiopentone sleep in depression. Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 4, 310–314.Google Scholar
Fink, M. & Johnson, L. (1978) Monitoring the duration of electroconvulsive therapy seizures. “Cuff and EEG methods compared. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 1189–1191.Google Scholar
Freeman, C. P. L., Basson, J. V. & Creighton, A. (1978) Double-blind controlled trial of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and simulated ECT in depressive illness. Lancet, i, 738–740.Google Scholar
Fromm-Auch, D. (1982) Comparison of unilateral and bilateral ECT: evidence for selective memory impairment. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 608–613.Google Scholar
Greenblatt, M., Grosser, G. H. & Wechsler, H. (1964) Differential response of hospitalized depressed patients to somatic therapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 935–943.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960) A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology. Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 23, 56–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heshe, J., Roeder, E. & Theilgaard, A. (1978) Unilateral and bilateral ECT. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplement 275.Google Scholar
Johnstone, E. C. Deakin, J. F. W., Lawler, P., Frith, C. D., Stevens, M., McPherson, K. & Crow, T. J. (1980) The Northwick Park electroconvulsive therapy trial. In Lancet ii, 1317–1320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambourn, J. & Gill, D. (1978) A controlled comparison of simulated and real ECT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 514–519.Google Scholar
Lancaster, N. P., Steinert, R. R. & Frost, I. (1958) Unilateral electroconvulsive therapy. Journal of Mental Science, 104, 221–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, I. M., Perkins, M., Marjerrison, G. & Podilsky, M. (1966) A controlled comparison of amitriptyline and electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 1427–1431.Google Scholar
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Committee. (1965) Clinical trial of the treatment of depressive illness. British Medical Journal, i, 881–886.Google Scholar
Montgomery, S. A. & Asberg, M. (1979) A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 382–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, T. (1981) Unilateral electroconvulsive therapy for depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 304, 53.Google Scholar
Robin, A. & De Tissera, S. (1982) A double-blind controlled comparison of the therapeutic effects of low and high energy electroconvulsive therapies. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 357–366.Google Scholar
Valentine, M., Keddie, K. M. G. & Dunne, D. (1968) A comparison of techniques in electroconvulsive therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 989–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, E. D. (1981) Electric convulsion therapy in depression: a double-blind controlled trial. British Medical Journal. 282, 355–357.Google Scholar
Wilson, I. C., Taylor-Vernon, J., Guin, T. & Sandifer, M. G. (1963) A controlled study of treatments of depression. Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 4, 331–337.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1974) The measurement and classification of psychiatric symptoms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.