What Level of Memory Loss Can Occur with Electroconvulsive Therapy?

[pmb_phy]

A friend of mine has been telling me about a close friend of theirs who has been suffering from severe depression. They recommended Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). This therapy is known to work wonders for the severly depressed. There is some short term memory loss that can occur in some cases. My friends friend is nervous about this memory loss. I think they're thinking of serious memory loss though. Does anyone know of what level such memory loss can be? I.e. does the patient forget what he had for breakfast or is it something like they forget the last few days etc?

Thanks

Pete

 

[Moonbear]

This article might have some of those answers. I don't have access to this journal, so couldn't read the full article to find out which cognitive outcomes they tested. If you can get a copy of the article through your library, just reply again if you need help with understanding the terminology used.

J ECT. 2004 Sep;20(3):174-8.*
Electroconvulsive therapy, depression, and cognitive outcomes: an Australian audit.

Fisher LJ, Goldney RD, Furze PF, Williams JL, Mattner J, McCleave DJ.

The Adelaide Clinic, Gilberton, South Australia.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare cognitive and other outcomes of 2 groups of mood disorder patients, those who received ECT and those who did not, from 2 private South Australian hospitals during a 12-month period. METHODS: Patients were assessed at admission and discharge from hospital on 2 validated instruments: the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) and an abbreviated version of the Short-Form 36-item Health Status Questionnaire (SF-36). RESULTS: Patient scores on the majority of subscales of both the HoNOS and SF-36 indicated a positive response to either ECT or non-ECT. There was no significant difference in HoNOS depression score between the ECT and non-ECT groups upon discharge, despite the ECT group being significantly more depressed at admission. Cognitive functioning of those who received ECT did not change significantly from admission to discharge. However, they did not share the significant improvement in cognitive functioning of those depressed persons who had non-ECT treatment. CONCLUSIONS: ECT treatment of depression was not associated with a deterioration of cognitive functioning.

PMID: 15343002