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Used more often in European countries than in the United States for the treatment of Scizophrenia. Indications for the use of Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) were summarized in 1993 in the New England Journal of Medicine as being “when the onset is acute and confusion and mood disturbance are present; and catatonia from almost any underlying cause.” It may also be useful in some treatment-resistant cases, although it should be used in conjunction with an antipsychotic in such cases.
ECT is done using unilateral electrodes over the nondominant lobe to minimize memory loss. Some memory loss may nevertheless occur and is the major side effect of the procedure. There is no evidence that ECT causes any damage to the brain. Some patients respond to as few as 12 ECT treatments while others need 20 or more.
Surviving Schizophrenia, E. Fuller Torrey, M.D.