Depression Treatment: Electroconvulsive Therapy, the Placebo Effect and Informed Consent.
Electroconvulsive therapy, the placebo effect and informed consent.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
J Med Ethics. 2012 Oct 4;
Blease CR
Major depressive disorder is not only the most widespread mental disorder in the world, it is a disorder on the rise. In cases of particularly severe forms of depression, when all other treatment options have failed, the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a recommended treatment option for patients. ECT has been in use in psychiatric practice for over 70 years and is now undergoing something of a restricted renaissance following a sharp decline in its use in the 1970s. Despite its success in treating severe depression there is continued debate as to the effectiveness of ECT: in some studies, it is argued that ECT is marginally more effective than sham ECT. In addition, there is still no clear explanation of how ECT works; among the range of hypotheses proposed it is claimed that ECT may work by harnessing placebo effects. In light of the uncertainties over the mechanism of action of ECT and given the risk of serious side effects that ECT may produce, I contend that the process of informed consent must include comprehensive accounts of these uncertainties. I examine the possible consequences of providing adequate information to potential ECT patients, including the consideration that ECT may still prove to be effective even if physicians are open about the possibility of it working as a placebo. I conclude that if we value patient autonomy as well as the professional reputation of medical practitioners, a fuller description of ECT must be provided to patients and their carers.
HubMed – depression
Clinical correlates and diagnostic utility of osmophobia in migraine.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Cephalalgia. 2012 Oct 4;
Wang YF, Fuh JL, Chen SP, Wu JC, Wang SJ
Background:Osmophobia is an under-investigated associated symptom in migraine.Objective:To evaluate the clinical correlates and diagnostic utility of osmophobia.Methods:Adult patients with migraine (with or without aura), probable migraine (PM), tension-type headache (TTH), and cluster headache (CH) were recruited retrospectively from our headache registration system. Migraine patients with and without osmophobia were compared. The newly proposed criteria for migraine requiring at least two of photo-, phono-, or osmophobia instead of both photo- and phonophobia were validated.Results:In total, 2883 patients were included: 1809 migraine, 792 PM, 138 TTH, and 144 CH. Osmophobia was more common in migraine (62.2%) than in PM (33.8%), TTH (14.5%), and CH (31.3%) (all p?HubMed – depression
A primary care-based treatment programme improves postpartum depression at 12 months.
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Evid Based Ment Health. 2012 Oct 4;
N Frey B, Sharma V
Good Posture May Help Treat Depression
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Here's another reason to sit up straight: better posture can better your mood. A study from Erik Peper, from San Francisco State University, and I-Mei Lin, from Taiwan's Kaohsiung Medical University, suggests that sitting up straight can even help ease …
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Are some kinds of therapy illegal? Not many
Filed under: Depression Treatment
Psychedelic therapy, the use of hallucinogens to facilitate the treatment of depression, addiction and other psychological problems, is widely illegal. Psychedelic drugs like LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and iboga are considered by the Drug Enforcement Agency …
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Forest submits NDA for treatment of major depressive disorder to FDA
Filed under: Depression Treatment
… a developer of branded forms of ethical drug products, has submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, to the FDA for levomilnacipran, a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, or SNRI, for the treatment of major depressive disorder, or MDD, in …
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