Abstract
The electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been used for more than 70 years and it is currently the most potent antidepressant treatment with scientifically evidence. Still the ECT is a massive stigmatized treatment, especially in Germany. The mode of action of the ECT is not fully understood. Despite the technical improvements, there are two major disadvantages of the ECT: a high rate of relapse and the acute cognitive side effects, sometimes severe. In psychiatry, there is an urgent need of new treatment methods for severely treatment-resistant diseases. Currently, there are four physical methods of brain stimulation being researched: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), magnetic seizure therapy (MST), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). Beyond scientific studies, these are only applied in single cases at present. Their clinical importance and their mode of action have to be subject of further research. None of these new stimulation methods is a measure of first choice treatment presently in psychiatric disorders.
| Translated title of the contribution | Electroconvulsive therapy and new brain stimulation methods |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Pages (from-to) | 117-123 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Nervenheilkunde |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- Deep brain stimulation
- Electroconvulsive therapy
- Magnetic seizure therapy
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
- Vagus nerve stimulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Family Practice