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Electroconvulsive therapy:
Electroconvulsive therapy is a treatment for depression that uses electricity to trigger a seizure.
How the Test is Performed
How to Prepare for the Test
How the Test Will Feel
Why the Test is Performed
Risks
Considerations
Alternative Names:
Shock treatment; ECT
SPANISH:
Es un tratamiento para la depresión que utiliza electricidad para inducir una convulsión.
Depression: Treatment With Electroconvulsive Therapy
What conditions does electroconvulsive therapy treat?
Electroconvulsive therapy (also called ECT) may help people who have the following conditions:
- Severe depression with insomnia (trouble sleeping), weight change, feelings of hopelessness or guilt and thoughts of suicide (hurting or killing yourself) or homicide (hurting or killing someone else).
- Severe depression that does not respond to antidepressants (medicines used to treat depression) or counseling.
- Severe depression in patients who can't take antidepressants.
- Severe mania that does not respond to medication. Symptoms of severe mania may include talking too much, insomnia, weight loss or impulsive behavior.
- Schizophrenia that does not respond to medication.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
By Mayo Clinic staff Definition
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure in which electric currents are passed through the brain, deliberately triggering a brief seizure. This seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can alleviate symptoms of certain mental illnesses. Yet 70 years after it was first introduced, electoconvulsive therapy remains controversial.
Much of the stigma attached to electroconvulsive therapy is based on early, brutal treatments in which high doses of electricity were administered without anesthesia, leading to memory loss and death.
Electroconvulsive therapy is quite different today. Although electroconvulsive therapy can still cause side effects and complications, it now uses precisely calculated electrical currents administered in a controlled setting to achieve the most benefit with the fewest possible risks.

Sources: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). Electroconvulsive Therapy. http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/electroconvulsive-therapy/MY00129/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all [Accessed 06 JAN 2009]
U.S. National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. Electroconvulsive Therapy. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003324.htm Spanish: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/ency/article/003324.htm [Accessed 06 JAN 2010]