Enhancing the Effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Severe Depression

Summary

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most powerful antidepressant treatment available and is often life-saving. There are concerns, however, that standard bitemporal ECT (the most commonly used form of ECT worldwide) causes persisting retrograde amnesia. However, clinical trials have indicated that high-dose unilateral ECT may be as effective as bitemporal ECT but have much less cognitive side-effects. The trial aims to test the primary experimental hypothesis: High-dose (6 x ST) right unilateral ECT is as effective as (i.e. not inferior to) standard (1.5 x ST) bitemporal ECT for severe depression in terms of Hamilton Depression Rating Score (HDRS) at the end of the treatment course.

Timeline

Start

2008-05

Primary completion

2013-11

Completion

2015-04

Publications

• Fenton C, McLoughlin DM. Usefulness of Hamilton rating scale for depression subset scales and full versions for electroconvulsive therapy. PLoS One. 2021 Nov 9;16(11):e0259861. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259861. eCollection 2021.

Drugs

Indications