Opponents of electric-shock therapy are calling for a ban on its use in the elderly after a new study shows they are at increased risk of permanent brain damage. The Press (New Zealand) Feb 7 2007 By KAMALA HAYMAN The elderly, women and people with lower IQs are the most vulnerable to brain damage, particularly memory loss, according to the first large-scale study on the long-term effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). About 300 patients a year are given ECT ... (more...)

Added: Feb 7, 2007 11:10 am | 16 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

ect.org note: This article is appearing in numerous publications and websites, so to avoid repeating the same information again and again, an ongoing list of publications will be posted below. ----------- Forbes Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia and Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits 12.21.06, 3:38 PM ET NEW YORK, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 5:05 pm | 49 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

by Linda Andre Director, CTIP The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community Settings NIMH-funded research study published in the January 2007 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology Author and primary investigator: Harold Sackeim Funding: NIMH grants #35636, Affective and Cognitive Consequences of ECT, funded since 1981 for a total of approximately ten million dollars so far (grant has been renewed through 2009) #59069, ECT Practices in Community Settings---Evaluating Outcomes, funded since 1999 for a total of approximately 3.5 million dollars so far Summary: ... (more...)

Added: Nov 24, 2006 3:24 pm | 24 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Memory and cognitive effects of ECT: informing and assessing patients Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2006), vol. 12, 228 238 Harold Robertson & Robin Pryor Abstract: Over the past few years electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has come under increased scrutiny in the UK, with the first systematic review of patients’ experiences and new national guidelines. Our aim in this article is to translate recent and sometimes confusing research and policy statements into practical guidance that benefits patients. We examined the evidence ... (more...)

Added: Jul 31, 2006 11:52 am | 11 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment (2007), vol. 13, 90-100 doi: 10.1192/apt.bp.106.002899 Cognitive rehabilitation: assessment and treatment of persistent memory impairments following ECT Maeve A. Mangaoang & Jim V. Lucey Abstract Few tests address the types of memory problem commonly reported after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Here, we focus on the importance of neuropsychological assessment in ECT-treated patients and describe a number of tasks that may be useful in measuring the everyday memory problems of such patients with ongoing memory ... (more...)

Added: Mar 13, 2007 4:52 pm | 10 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Peter Stevens a, , and David J. Harper b, aOxleas NHS Trust, Dartford, Kent, UK bUniversity of East London, UK Available online 8 January 2007. Abstract Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a socially contested psychiatric intervention. However, the accounts of professionals involved in its use have rarely been systematically investigated. This study aimed to examine the accounts of clinicians who have used ECT on a routine basis. Eight health professionals (psychiatrists, anaesthetists and psychiatric nurses from a major city in ... (more...)

Added: Jan 11, 2007 5:40 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits Medical News Today Dec 22 2006 In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to function. "This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 4:01 pm | 6 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Dec 6 2006 Reuters Health Information NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 06 - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is comparable to pharmacologic treatment in preventing relapse of depression, but both approaches have limited efficacy, investigators report in the December Archives of General Psychiatry. While electroconvulsive therapy is extremely effective for acute treatment of major depression, ECT is also being used as continuation or maintenance treatment (C-ECT) to prevent relapse. However, there are few data to support such use, note Dr. ... (more...)

Added: Dec 22, 2006 12:52 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Archives of General Psychiatry Dec 2006 A Multisite Study From the Consortium for Research in Electroconvulsive Therapy (CORE) Charles H. Kellner, MD; Rebecca G. Knapp, PhD; Georgios Petrides, MD; Teresa A. Rummans, MD; Mustafa M. Husain, MD; Keith Rasmussen, MD; Martina Mueller, PhD; Hilary J. Bernstein, DHA; Kevin O’Connor, MD; Glenn Smith, PhD; Melanie Biggs, PhD; Samuel H. Bailine, MD; Chitra Malur, MD; Eunsil Yim, MS; Shawn McClintock, MS; Shirlene Sampson, MD; Max Fink, MD Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63:1337-1344. Background  ... (more...)

Added: Dec 12, 2006 4:19 pm | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Shock Treatment: Efficacy, Memory Loss, and Brain Damage – Psychiatry’s Don’t Look, Don’t Tell Policy by Richard A. Warner This downloadable paper was written by a paralegal in an ECT case that is currently on appeal. He researched the subject for two years, and decided to put that research to use, in this paper. ... (more...)

Added: Sep 26, 2006 11:16 am | 1 Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

J Forensic Sci 2000 Nov;45(6):1197-202 Scarano VR, Felthous AR, Early TS Forensic Psychiatry Services, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. The Texas Legislature in 1993 mandated a quarterly reporting requirement for hospitals and physicians performing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the state (United States Government hospitals were excluded). The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) was designated as the agency responsible for collecting and maintaining the data. This paper reviews the ECT data from 16 ... (more...)

Added: Aug 11, 2006 10:32 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

J Clin Psychiatry 1995 Sep;56(9):390-4 Clinical Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md 20892, USA. BACKGROUND: Recent reports have called into question the safety and effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). METHOD: To investigate these claims, the effects of ECT on clinical outcomes were examined as part of a retrospective, naturalistic study of 192 geriatric patients consecutively admitted between 1980 and 1987 to a large midwestern tertiary care center ... (more...)

Added: Aug 11, 2006 10:24 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print

Update: The full article has been published in Nature and may be read here in PDF format. An unpublished article, send by an insider to ect.org, reveals what ECT activists have been saying for years: ECT does cause cognitive damage. The "running title" of the article is "Cognitive Effects of ECT." The article is scheduled to be published in Neuropsychopharmacology in January. --- 4,247 Words 5 Tables 5 Figures The Cognitive Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Community ... (more...)

Added: Aug 6, 2006 12:21 pm | 14 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

Here are a number of clips from the videotaped deposition of Harold Sackeim (2004). Sackeim was the expert witness for Mecta in a lawsuit in California. You can read most of the deposition here, in PDF format. I'm splitting the videos into two pages to reduce your load. If the page loads slowly, or the videos don't load, try again in thirty minutes...it's likely YouTube is down. Richard Abrams is defensive, says ... (more...)

Added: Aug 3, 2006 12:21 am | 2 Comments |  Email This Post  | Print

The Awakening This clip is an interesting explanation of why psychiatrists have apparently been unaware for 70 years that ECT can and does cause profound memory loss and cognitive damage. The reason? Because until a few years ago, the only persons who complained of severe memory loss also said it didn't help them. It took finding some patients who experienced devastating memory loss who would also proclaim it "saved their life" before Harold Sackeim would listen. Hey, ... (more...)

Added: Aug 3, 2006 12:20 am | Comment |  Email This Post  | Print