Multiple-Monitored Electroconvulsive Therapy (MMECT) - does it really just belong in psychiatry's past? A case report. / Wielokrotne monitorowane zabiegi elektrowstrzasowe (MMECT) ­ czy na pewno wylacznie domena historii psychiatrii? Opis przypadku.

Electroconvulsive therapy has been a method used in psychiatry since 1938 and despite its rather turbulent history, it is still the most effective method of treating severe mental disorders. Despite its high efficiency and good safety profile, patients with catatonia usually require a large number of treatments. It entails a long hospitalization time and the necessity to repeatedly induce general anesthesia. In 1966, Blachly proposed to induce more than one seizure during a single anesthesia. According to this method, the patient was to be constantly monitored (ECG, EEG) during a series of electroconvulsions, which consisted of two to even eight treatments. For simplicity, the method is called multiple-monitored ECT (MMECT). The work is based on the medical history of a patient diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia. Due to the insufficient effect of single treatments, we decided to use the MMECT method, which was performed in series of three treatments, twice a week. Thanks to the therapy, catatonic symptoms remitted. Studies in various patient populations have shown that MMECT reduces hospitalization time, the duration of acute symptoms, and the patient's total exposure to anesthetics and muscle relaxants. As the above case shows, MMECT can potentially be considered as a safe treatment alternative in patients that require a large number of treatments, resistant to standard forms of therapy.

Correlation between Selected Clinical Symptoms and Severity of Aggression, Impulsiveness and Their Selected Behavioral Manifestations in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Phenotype A.

Previous studies on aggressiveness and impulsiveness in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are ambiguous. Furthermore, no biochemical or clinical factors related to these variables have been definitively confirmed. The aim of the study was to clarify whether, in women with phenotype A of PCOS, variables such as body mass index and clinical and biochemical hyperandrogenism have an impact on either the intensity of impulsivity or aggression or on other selected behavioral manifestations of these variables. The study included 95 patients diagnosed with PCOS phenotype A. The criterion for recruitment into the study group and the control group was body mass index. The study was conducted with the use of a closed-format questionnaire and calibrated clinical scales. Higher body mass index (BMI) values in women with PCOS phenotype A are associated with poor eating habits. The severity of impulsivity and aggression syndrome, as well as the tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior and patterns of alcohol consumption among patients diagnosed with PCOS phenotype A, are not dependent on BMI. The severity of impulsiveness and the syndrome of aggression in women with phenotype A PCOS are not associated with clinical symptoms of hyperandrogenism or with androgen levels.