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Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Second Opinion
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o Patients over 80 years had significantly more cardiovascular complications and falls (95% confidence interval) and tended to have a worse ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) scale rating and a somewhat less successful outcome.
Electroconvulsive therapy in octogenarians. Cattan RA, Barry PP, Mead G, Reefe WE, Gay A, Silverman M. J Am Geriatr Soc 1990 Jul;38(7):753-8
o Among elderly and other ECT patients, significantly more women than men are electroshocked: two to three times more women than men have been electroshocked in both Canada and the United States for many years.
Electroshocking elderly people: Another psychiatric abuse. Don Weitz. Changes: An International Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy (vol. 15 no.2, May 1997).
o A longitudinal study involving sixty five depressed patients 80 years and older found that for the ECT group, 27 per cent died within one year following the "treatment", but only 4 per cent of the "medicated" group died. In addition, one patient died after undergoing two ECTs. In other words, this study clearly show that electroshock threatens people's survival, especially if they are old and sick.
Kroessler, D. and Fogel, B.S. (1993). "Electroconvulsive therapy for major depression in the oldest old". The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, l(l), 30-37.
o "Given that an estimated 50% of women in psychiatric hospitals have suffered sexual and/or physical abuse in childhood and that ECT is most commonly used on women, this raises the disturbing possibility that a number of patients are, in effect, being re-abused in the name of treatment.
Johnstone, L. Adverse psychological effects of ECT. Journal of Mental Health 8(1). Feb 1999; citing Williams, J. & Watson, G. (1994). Mental health services that empower women: the challenge to clinical psychology. Clinical Psychology Forum, 64, 1117.
o "In an analysis of 34 persons over the age of 85 who were subjected to ECT, researchers at the Mayo clinic documented that 79% suffered treatment complications, including a 32% incidence of confusion and delirium, 67% incidence of transient high blood pressure, 18% incidence of serious heart arrhythmias during treatment, 2 patients with other cardiogram changes, 3 with falls, 1 hip fracture due to fall."
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79 citing Tomac, T. and Rummans, T. Safety and Efficacy of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients Over Age 85. Am J Geriatr Psych 1997; 5:126-130.
o "ECT-enthusiast Dr. Coffey and his associate Dr. Figiel found that 10 out of 87 (that's 11% of) elderly patients getting ECT for depression remained delirious between ECT sessions for no discernible medical reason other than the ECT itself. They documented by brain MRI scans that 90% of these unfortunate patients had lesions in the basal ganglia areas of the brain, and 90% also had moderate to severe white matter lesions."
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79 citing Figiel, Coffey, et al. Brain MRI findings in ECT-induced delirium J of Neuropsych and Clin Sci 1990;2:53-58.
o "Kroessler and Fogel's 1993 study on death rates reported above was done on the "oldest old," depressed patients at least 85 years of age. Mortality rates were significantly greater for those who received ECT, compared to those who did not."
Appendix to John Breeding, Ph.D. Electroshock. Based on an article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Winter 2000, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 65-79 citing Kroessler, D. and and Fogel, B. Electroconvulsive Therapy for Major Depression in the Oldest Old. Am J Geriatr Psych 1993;1:1:30-37.
o An article in the American Journal of Psychiatry reports that a 15-year-old girl with schizophrenia received 200 ECTs in 1 year. A 16-year-old girl diagnosed as suffering from dementia praecox was treated with 15 unmodified ECTs in 3 days. She developed an organic brain syndrome over a period of 3 weeks….Five patients were reported to have ended the course of ECT prematurely because of side effects. These included a depressed teenager who underwent a switch to mania after five ECTs; two whose treatment was discontinued because of increasing agitation; one who showed marked confusion after two treatments; and an 18-year-old female patient with bipolar disorder who developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome following one ECT, after which the course was terminated.
Half a Century of ECT Use in Young People. Joseph M. Rey and Garry Walter. American Journal of Psychiatry 154:5, May 1997