Posted by med_empowered on January 15, 2007, at 23:10:18
In reply to Re: ECT causes permanent cognitive deficits + amnesia, posted by Karen44 on January 14, 2007, at 21:13:39
I dont think its really been a secret that ECT can cause brain damage. Back in the day (50s-70s), even Max Fink himself admitted as much. Now, after Thomas Szasz ("The Myth of Mental Illness") and attacks on (pretty crappy) psychiatric practices from everybody (minorities, women, gays, psychiatric survivors), Fink went along with the new story of ECT, which was that it somehow improved mood quickly and safely, without any of the trauma or brain damage one would expect from flooding the brain with high amounts of electricity. For whatever reason, the media and mainstream shrinks have largely played along with this, telling us all that "the new ECT" is somehow kinder and gentler that the "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" or Frances Farmer versions. Really, it isn't. They just added anaesthesia and muscle relaxers.
Anyway, its cool that this guy is finally admitting what has been pretty blatantly apparent since ECT hit the scene in the 30s: this treatment can cause brain damage. I don't know why he's coming forward with this--maybe he couldn't manipulate the data to go in any other direction--but I'm glad its finally happened.
I think it makes sense that ECT would cause brain damage. Think of what it is used for: mania, depression (non-psychotic), psychotic depression, schizophrenia, and apparently OCD (this from TMAP's website). I don't think there is one underlying abnormality in all these conditions that ECT could be rectifying. However, ECT does "help" all of them...my guess is that this is b/c "successful treatment" is synonymous with the degree of disorientation and disruption of normal thought patterns that ECT induces.
poster:med_empowered
thread:722128
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070113/msgs/722756.html