Memory protective effect of indomethacin against electroconvulsive shock-induced retrograde amnesia in rats.

BACKGROUND: Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been suggested to retard cognitive decrements in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We postulated that NSAIDs also may protect acute disruption of memory. METHODS: We studied the effect of indomethacin (4 mg/kg/day) administered daily for 19 days on retrograde amnesia induced by two once-daily electroconvulsive shocks in rats. RESULTS: Indomethacin produced statistically significant prolongation of recall latency in a passive avoidance task using a step-down apparatus. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that NSAIDs may prevent memory disruption through other mechanisms apart from attenuating chronic inflammation. In patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy, as in those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, antiinflammatory drugs may hold promise in the attenuation of cognitive impairments.

Celecoxib as an in vivo probe of cyclooxygenase-2 mechanisms underlying retrograde amnesia in an animal model of ECT.

BACKGROUND: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mechanisms are involved in glutamate-mediated learning and memory as well as in glutamatergic excitotoxicity. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced amnesia may arise from glutamatergic excitotoxicity; if so, COX-2 inhibition may attenuate retrograde amnesia with ECT. METHODS: Wistar rats which received celecoxib (15 mg/kg per day) or vehicle for 18 days were trained for 3 days on a passive avoidance task. On each of the next 3 days, rats which showed perfect learning (n=51) received true or sham suprathreshold electroconvulsive shocks (ECS; 60 mC) in a factorial design; daily dosing with drug or vehicle was continued. One day after the last ECS, recall of pre-ECS learning was tested. RESULTS: ECS-treated rats showed impaired recall in the vehicle but not celecoxib group. Celecoxib significantly protected against ECS-induced retrograde amnesia; this benefit was independent of the drug-induced attenuation of ECS seizure duration. CONCLUSIONS: Celecoxib may protect against ECS-induced retrograde amnesia by attenuating ECS-induced, COX-2-mediated glutamatergic excitotoxicity.

The influence of name on the acceptability of ECT: the importance of political correctness.

BACKGROUND: Attitudes toward a treatment influence the acceptability of the treatment. There has been no study of how attitudes toward electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are influenced by what ECT is called. METHODS: A sample of 125 laypersons was drawn from 3 social settings in Bangalore, India. A short, oral questionnaire was administered to determine the acceptability of ECT under 3 different names: 2 actual and 1 coined. RESULTS: The acceptability of ECT was highest for the coined name electrostimulatory therapy (53%), intermediate for the occasionally used name electroshock therapy (38%), and least for the commonly used name electroconvulsive therapy (9%) (P < 0.001). Electrostimulatory therapy was the preferred choice because it was least associated with the likelihood of harm (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: How a treatment is presented may influence reactions to it and, hence, its acceptability. We therefore suggest that ECT is better described as electrostimulatory therapy than as electroconvulsive therapy or electroshock therapy. We further suggest that discussions on ECT should emphasize the stimulatory effects of the treatment and downplay parallels with epilepsy. In an age of political correctness, political correctness should be applied to the description of ECT.