I realize that we are talking about ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), and that this is barbaric to some people. I can tell you that the effect of ECT, especially the loss of
some memory, is not all that bad. The loss usually includes the days during which the patient was given the ECT treatment. It is not usually that you forget where you worked or who you children are.
But is it not worthy of at least some serious discussion on this board. Is it so distasteful to just discuss this concept as a therapy or to even believe that it could be helpful to some PWPs? I hear all the times, "we want a cure or at a minimum better and effective thearpy." Is it just a new pill everyone wants?
If you have had ECT in the past, I am not asking anyone to divulge that since those who have had the therapy for depression don't even like to admit it. That is how unsettling the stigma is.
To begin with:
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It is unfortunate that ECT has never gained favor with neurologists in the treatment of PD. In fact, the treatment is not even mentioned in any current treatment guidelines or exhaustive reviews on the subject. Perhaps this is because there is so much excitement in the possibilities of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for those with medication resistant or intractable disease. ..."
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Is this because DBS makes LOTS of money and so many researchers as monetarily invested, while ECT would not make money. We have discussed this, the financial investment, before. Is ECT so much more scary than having holes drilled in your head and metal rods permanently inserted? Is there no one who would have ECT before having DBS in the off chance that it MAY be helpful. I ask these questions in both veins; 1) for discussion, since the science is not there and 2) in somewhat of a rhetorical nature.
And this quote from the post Linda (the PPP has done considerable research into ECT for PD since Dr. Mark Goulston's article appeared in The Huffington Post a week or so ago) made is simply the manner in which the result of the ECT was measured. It has nothing to do with what any PWP can or cannot do in ones current state of PD.
Quote:
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"To assess gait, the time to walk a 10-meter distance was recorded. The time to perform a complex hand and arm movement test was used to measure upper limb bradykinesia. For the walk test, patients were instructed to walk as quickly as they could. For the complex movement test, patients were instructed to perform 10 flexion-extension movements in the elbow joint while simultaneously squeezing a rubber bulb twice during each flexion-extension cycle. "
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