Ministers are facing calls to order an inquiry into a ‘primitive’ treatment for depression that involves passing electric currents through the brain. Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) has been used for almost a century to treat an array of psychiatric disorders including mania, catatonia and schizophrenia. But critics say evidence supporting its use is poor, while its potential side effects including memory loss, sight problems and trauma can be debilitating. However, the Royal College of Psychiatrists continues to back its use, saying it can be ‘life-saving’ for patients with severe depression. It cites data from 2016-17 which ‘showed that 43 per cent of patients were “much improved” and 30 per cent “very much improved” after ECT’.

Source: Daily Mail July 11, 2020 23:29 UTC