Electroconvulsive therapy in bipolar depression - effectiveness and prognostic factors.

OBJECTIVE: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used in patients with severe forms of bipolar depression. ECT is effective but not all patients respond. The aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors for response to ECT in patients hospitalized for bipolar depression. METHODS: Data were obtained from several national Swedish registers. All patients with bipolar depression treated with ECT in any hospital in Sweden between 2011 and 2016 for whom information about ECT response was available were included (n = 1251). Response was defined as a score on the Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale of one or two. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to investigate associations between socio-demographic and clinical factors and response. RESULTS: Response was achieved in 80.2% patients. Older age was associated with higher response rate to ECT. Patients with comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder or personality disorder, and patients previously treated with lamotrigine had lower response rate. CONCLUSION: Electroconvulsive therapy for bipolar depression was associated with very high response rates. The strongest prognostic factors were higher age, absence of comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder or personality disorder, and less prior pharmacologic treatment.

Hippocampal volume in relation to clinical and cognitive outcome after electroconvulsive therapy in depression.

OBJECTIVE: In a previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, we found a significant increase in hippocampal volume immediately after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate hippocampal volume up to 1 year after ECT and investigate its possible relation to clinical and cognitive outcome. METHOD: Clinical and cognitive outcome in 12 in-patients with depression receiving antidepressive pharmacological treatment referred for ECT were investigated with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and a broad neuropsychological test battery within 1 week before and after ECT. The assessments were repeated 6 and 12 months after baseline in 10 and seven of these patients, respectively. Hippocampal volumes were measured on all four occasions with 3 Tesla MRI. RESULTS: Hippocampal volume returned to baseline during the follow-up period of 6 months. Neither the significant antidepressant effect nor the significant transient decrease in executive and verbal episodic memory tests after ECT could be related to changes in hippocampal volume. No persistent cognitive side effects were observed 1 year after ECT. CONCLUSION: The immediate increase in hippocampal volume after ECT is reversible and is not related to clinical or cognitive outcome.

Sex-specifics of ECT outcome.

OBJECTIVE: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for patients with severe major depressive disorder (MDD). Given the known sex differences in MDD, improved knowledge may provide more sex-specific recommendations in clinical guidelines and improve outcome. In the present study we examine sex differences in ECT outcome and its predictors. METHODS: Clinical data from 20 independent sites participating in the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) were obtained for analysis, totaling 500 patients with MDD (58.6 % women) with a mean age of 54.8 years. Severity of depression before and after ECT was assessed with validated depression scales. Remission was defined as a HAM-D score of 7 points or below after ECT. Variables associated with remission were selected based on literature (i.e. depression severity at baseline, age, duration of index episode, and presence of psychotic symptoms). RESULTS: Remission rates of ECT were independent of sex, 48.0 % in women and 45.7 % in men (X2(1) = 0.2, p = 0.70). In the logistic regression analyses, a shorter index duration was identified as a sex-specific predictor for ECT outcome in women (X2(1) = 7.05, p = 0.01). The corresponding predictive margins did show overlapping confidence intervals for men and women. CONCLUSION: The evidence provided by our study suggests that ECT as a biological treatment for MDD is equally effective in women and men. A shorter duration of index episode was an additional sex- specific predictor for remission in women. Future research should establish whether the confidence intervals for the corresponding predictive margins are overlapping, as we find, or not.

Self-assessed remission rates after electroconvulsive therapy of depressive disorders.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) effectively treats severe depression, but not all patients remit. The aim of the study was to identify clinical factors that associate with ECT-induced remission in a community setting. METHODS: Depressed patients who underwent ECT in 2011-2014 were identified from the Swedish National Quality Register for ECT. Remission was defined as self-rated Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores of 0-10 after ECT. Other registers provided data on previous antidepressant use, comorbidities, and demographics. RESULTS: Of 1671 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria, 42.8% achieved remission. Older age, education length over 9 years, psychotic symptoms, shorter duration of preceding antidepressant use, pulse width stimulus≥0.50ms, absence of substance use disorders, anxiety diagnosis, lamotrigine, and benzodiazepines, were associated with remission. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that psychotic subtype of depression and older age are clinically relevant predictors of a beneficial ECT effect. Additionally, ECT outcomes can be further improved by optimizing the treatment technique and concomitant medication.