Bipolar Disorder. Image Credit: xpixel | shutterstock

From Psychiatric News Alert: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment-resistant bipolar disorder appears to be more effective than an algorithm-based pharmacologic treatment in terms of symptom improvement, says the report “Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Electroconvulsive Therapy Versus Algorithm-Based Pharmacological Treatment” in the January American Journal of Psychiatry. But remission rates did not differ between the two groups and remained modest regardless of treatment choice for this challenging clinical condition.

According to the research, ECT treatment was significantly more effective than the pharmacological treatment. For more details of the research, see the Psychiatric News article. There were possible limitations noted by Mauricio Tohen, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Christopher Abbott, M.D., M.S., additionally stating:

“In spite of the above limitations, this report adds major value to the evidence-based data on the use of ECT as a treatment option for bipolar depression.”

For more research on the use of ECT in depressive disorders, see the Psychiatric News article, “Ketamine Outperforms ECT in Depression Study.”

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