Non-pharmacological biological treatments of psychiatric patients

A survey of ECT in a general hospital psychiatry unit

A review of the 2,256 admissions to a general hospital psychiatry unit between April 1982 and December 1987 showed that 129 (6%) had been treated with electro-convulsive therapy (ECT); 91% of these had a diagnosis of mood disorder. Most patients were taking concurrent psychotropic medication and received an average of 9 treatments per course of ECT. Men and patients taking benzodiazepines had shorter convulsions. However, there were no differences in seizure length and number of treatments between younger and older patients and between those taking and not taking tricyclic antidepressants.

The first 200 years of Australian psychiatry

Accomplishments in the various fields of Australian psychiatry are traced from the first asylums, through the history of the peaks and troughs of progress, down to the present state of disorganisation of the services and the struggle for psychiatry to find an honourable place in Australian history.

Electroconvulsive therapy in 1985--a review

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has recently been re-examined in randomized, double-blind controlled trials. Although a variable placebo influence has been demonstrated, the effectiveness of ECT in severe depression is now well established. ECT may also have a role in the treatment of resistant schizophrenia. A bilateral convulsion is essential for therapeutic efficiency. Unilateral electrode placement is as effective as bilateral placement and reduces subsequent memory impairment considerably. A reduction in the total electrical energy used to produce the convulsion (with unidirectional squared wave forms and brief pulses) lessens cognitive difficulties after ECT. Long-term memory is not impaired but selective impairment of verbal and non-verbal learning can occur in the short term. Psychopharmacological studies suggest that postsynaptic dopamine transmission may be enhanced by ECT.