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Unilateral ultra-brief pulse electroconvulsive therapy for depression in Parkinson's disease.

Unilateral ultra-brief pulse electroconvulsive therapy for depression in Parkinson's disease. Acta neurologica Scandinavica Williams, N. R., Bentzley, B. S., Sahlem, G. L., Pannu, J., Korte, J. E., Revuelta, G., Short, E. B., George, M. S. 2016

Abstract

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has demonstrated efficacy in treating core symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD); however, widespread use of ECT in PD has been limited due to concern over cognitive burden. We investigated the use of a newer ECT technology known to have fewer cognitive side effects (right unilateral [RUL] ultra-brief pulse [UBP]) for the treatment of medically refractory psychiatric dysfunction in PD.This open-label pilot study included 6 patients who were assessed in the motoric, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric domains prior to and after RUL UBP ECT. Primary endpoints were changes in total score on the HAM-D-17 and GDS-30 rating scales.Patients were found to improve in motoric and psychiatric domains following RUL UBP ECT without cognitive side effects, both immediately following ECT and at 1-month follow-up.This study demonstrates that RUL UBP ECT is safe, feasible, and potentially efficacious in treating multiple domains of PD, including motor and mood, without clear cognitive side effects.

View details for DOI 10.1111/ane.12614

View details for PubMedID 27241213

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5133197