The Brain And Electricity: The Siamese Syndrome
Being introduced in the early 1900’s, electroconvulsive shock therapy, or ECT, has deemed to be one of the most effectual and least understood treatments in psychiatry. Technically it has distorted in many ways since its conception and is now viewed as a secure and effective treatment of patients with key depressive disorder, schizophrenia, manic episodes, and other grave mental turmoil’s. Nevertheless, the neurobiological transformations critical to the therapeutic triumph of ECT have not yet been fully understood. Such a knowledge fissure has led to an erroneous representation of ECT in the media and fallacy about ECT being held by many patients and even health care professionals.
Paroxysmal rehabilitation was initiated in the early 1930’s in Europe by Ladislaus von Meduna as management for catatonic schizophrenia. Ladislaus generated seizures by the injection of camphor in oil but almost immediately interchanged camphor with metrazol because of its solubility and rapid onset of action. Also in 1934, Bini and Cerletti forged the use of electricity to persuade seizures. Electrical-induced convulsions were more prudent, inexpensive, and reliable than the camphor-induced convulsion.
In reference to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the magnitude of ECT trials executed in the United States surpasses appendectomy, coronary bypass, or hernia repair. While the most universal submission of ECT is for psychological infirmities, the uses of ECT vary from superlative depression and schizophrenia to cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
Even though it’s mechanism of action is not grasped, revisions by the American Journal of Psychiatry exhumed a contraction in the le...
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...e-hashed. The records of this treatment should not censure it to the annals of abortive medical practices, but the modern advances in this treatment should receive electroconvulsive therapy the status of a feasible treatment alternative for definite patients.
Works Cited
Balwin, Steve. Electroshock: A Fifty Year Review. New Haven: Yale University; 2006
American Medical Association. The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Charles B. Clayman. New York: Random, 1989.
"ECT." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Vers. 97.1.1. Mar. 1997. Encyclopedia Britannica. 29 Feb. 2000 .
Kraigzer, Dr. Edwin and Emily R. White. Electroshock Therapy. Philadelphia:Doubleday, 1986.
Halig, Steven et.al. History of Electroconvulsive Therapy. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1999.
Unlike Naomi, Eric does not respond to drug therapy. Therefore, instead of a drug therapy, Eric receives the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or brain stimulation often an effective treatment for patients like Eric with severe depression who does not respond to a drug therapy. By shocking the brain, the ECT manipulates the brain’s chemical imbalance produced by the social-cultural stress experience. But after eleven ECTs in a month, Eric cannot function because of the temporary side effects of memory loss and confusion affecting his concentration to play the viola and his well-being. Then after four months of receiving ECT treatment, Eric returns to normal social functioning as a musician. Six months later, Eric is still playing the viola and has had no recurrence of his
Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT, is a medical procedure that is used in the treatment of mental illness. In ECT, a small electrical impulse is sent through the brain, resulting in an ephemeral seizure. Though the process is generally effective, modern science is unaware of the explanation behind ECT's success. Its history is filled with a large amount of stigma and the use of ECT as a therapy is still debated today. ECT has evolved to a point where its beneficial effects can be maximized and its adverse effects can be minimized through proper administration.
When ECT was first introduced, it was a terrifying and hazardous procedure: patients suffered serious side effects, even breaking a bone from convulsions (Nairne, Smith & Lindsay, 2001). It has been criticized since its beginnings, and only recently it has begun to be seen more positively. The major reason for this is the fact that the treatment went through significant changes over the years – it is now much safer than before. Nowadays, patients are given a general anaesthetic and medications that relax the muscles to prevent injuries from occur. However, most professionals still consider it to be a treatment of last resort. It is used when people have shown...
?What is the role of ECT in the treatment of mania?? Harvard Mental Health Letter. June 1997.
Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is a highly effective yet controversial psychiatric method that involves sending electric shockwaves into the brain to cure various mental ailments. Because the populace is not typically educated by psychiatrists on techniques such as ECT, their knowledge comes from inaccurate, and mostly negative, descriptions in the media dictated by non-psychiatrists. Additionally, many patient families are skeptical of ECT because it is not common practice to allow non-medical staff in the therapy room. Furthermore, some psychiatrists perceive this treatment as callous because it is occasionally used without the consent of a patient, should they not be mentally stable. Moreover, because of strong public opposition, ECT
His mental condition of four years was fully relieved”. ECT gives second chances to patients who appear lifeless and hopeless. It's almost impossible to eliminate all risks and side effects in any surgical or non-surgical procedures and ECT is no different. It depends on individual whether the side effect has a greater impacts on their life then the mental illness itself. In source B, Larry Wilson an ECT patient has experienced memory loss. But, he states that, “the side effects of Prozac...seem worst to me than forgetting a few things”. Where in source C, a famous victim, Ernest Hemingway, “shot himself two days after leaving the hospital” because he felt that ECT erased his memory which is far
One of the most controversial forms of treatment is electroconvulsive therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy, or ETC, is a procedure that consists of strong electric shocks that pass through the brain to induce convulsions (Vocabulary). This was a common method solve mental illnesses in the 1940’s and 1950’s. ECT was often criticized for not working and causing permanent memory loss (Mental Health America). Another dangerous and controversial diagnosis is Lobotomy. Lobotomy is a surgical procedure that interrupts the nerves in the brain (Vocabulary). It was very popular before prescription drugs and was also a common diagnosis of mental illnesses (Vocabulary.) The side effects include, but are not limited Mto; personality changes, empathy, inhibitions, inative, and the ability to function by themselves (Live Science.com). There was over 50,000 known lobotomies performed in the U.S., most were in mental hospitals (Live Science.com). Dr. Barron Lerner, a medical historian and professor at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, told Live Science the science or thought process of lobotomy (Live Science.com). "The behaviors [doctors] were trying to fix, they thought, were set down in neurological connections. The idea was, if you could damage those connections, you could stop the bad behaviors (Live Science.com)." That’s why lobotomy
Several strides have been made in the medical field in regards to electroconvulsive therapy. The treatment is defined as “a medical procedure in which a brief electrical stimulus is used to induce a cerebral seizure under controlled conditions” (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). It is used for a handful of mental illnesses, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, but when it was introduced in 1938 by Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bin, its main use was to treat schizophrenia (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). ECT can indeed be effective for schizophrenia, but the best results are when the “… duration of [the] illness is relatively brief or when catatonic or affective symptoms are prominent” (Enns, Reiss & Chan, 2010). Unlike schizophrenia, the best results from ECT have come from treatments with patients who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and alternative methods are no longer working...
...ives to treating Epilepsy and its effects. Typically most doctors will prefer to keep the medicinal treatment as natural as possible. Although not many people have seizure alert dogs, they are out there and available as an alternative. However, if one’s Epileptic seizures are interrupting one’s normal day to day life activities that one partakes in, antiepileptic drugs may be the next step towards Epilepsy management. I have found through research that a corpus colostomy surgical procedure is only performed in severe cases of Epileptic seizures, and is only done as a last step towards treatment. All in all, I have come to find that Epilepsy can be treated and or controlled through the use of these resources. Nonetheless, as with many treatments used to treat Epilepsy, there are positive outcomes as well as possible consequences affiliated with these treatments.
Epilepsy is a very common neurological disorder. Some reports estimate that five in one-thousand people suffer from this problem. Throughout history, people with epilepsy have been shunned or considered inferior. Even today, ignorance leads many people to treat the epileptic as "abnormal" or "retarded". Although the etiology of epilepsy is still not fully understood, it is quite treatable due to advances in modern medicine.
While scientists continue to investigate exactly what electricity does to the human brain, they still use it as a form of therapy. ECT is administered annually to 100,000 Americans (Boodman 7). This inexpensive form of temporary relief is administered by the simple twist of a dial and is yet to be refined. These imperfections can make ECT an unpredictable and risky procedure that may even end lives. Still everyday, hundreds of desperate Americans give into these sometimes favorable artificial convulsions induced by electrical power.
The rationale for ECT is to provide relief from the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses such as severe depression, mania, and catatonic schizophrenia. ECT is indicated when patients need rapid improvement because they are suicidal, at risk of self-harm, refuse to eat or drink or are non compliant with prescribed medication. ECT will only be prescribed after adequate trials of other treatment options have proved to be ineffective or the condition is considered potentially life threatening (NICE 2010). A programme of ECT refers to no more than 12 treatments, prescribed by a consultant psychiatrist, following a psychiatric examination of the patient with a mental disorder for which use of ECT is indicated (Mental Health Commission 2009).
Depression was believed to be caused by evil spirits taking over body so priests would perform an exorcism to get rid of the bad spirits causing these mental diseases; depression. Herbs which caused convulsions would be used to “shake the bad spirits out”. Starting in the 16th century, they discovered that by measuring the amount of the “herbs” they used they could determine the severity of the convulsions (worse depression equaled more “herbs” which meant more severe convulsions). Then Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, which enabled psychologists of the day to treat these mental illnesses with electroshock therapy to “shake the demons out”. The biggest problem with this new treatment was there was no way to stop the spasms which came
This therapy was first developed in 1938, which initially started out with a poor reputation but has improved since its earlier uses. ECT is only considered to be used when the patient’s illness has not improved after other treatments have been tested first. ECT is also only administered to a person who is under general anesthesia and has been given a muscle relaxant to prevent movement that could cause damage during the procedure. While that patient is under anesthesia and undergoes this type of therapy they do not feel any pain or discomfort during the procedure (NIMH, N/D). This typical procedure is administered about three times a week so it can to help relieve the depression that the patient is dealing with. Along with any medical treatment comes with side effects. Electroconvulsive therapies side effects range from a headache or muscle ache to the more extreme of possible memory
Many people think that electroshock therapy was only used to treat mental illness until the middle of the twentieth century. You may be surprised to learn that this radical therapy is still used as a treatment of last resort for certain diseases. The reason is because electroshock therapy, which triggers a grand mal epileptic seizure in the patient, somehow alleviates symptoms of such mental illnesses as depression. No one knows why the convulsions are effective, but they do seem to help many patients.