Posted by alexandra_k on May 18, 2009, at 7:14:48
In reply to Re: rant about 'health' and stuff, posted by Sigismund on May 17, 2009, at 15:25:39
I'm pretty sure there are a number of double blind studies on ECT. Troubles come when you consider that:
1) Most of the studies don't do follow up for more than 6 months after the treatment (that is a really good way of 'failing to find harms of previous generations'. Pharma didn't face up to problems with the older generation anti-psychotics until they were out of patient... I wonder what will happen in the next 10 or so years with new generation and SSRI's... Let me guess 'we have discovered that anxiety/depression and schizophrenia are chronic, seriously dehabilitating, neuro-degenerative diseases')
2) The studies that do follow up for more than 6 months after treatment tend to show relapse
3) The studies that do follow up for more than 6 months after treatment don't tend to ask / appropriately check whether the patient's spontaneously reported side effects (ability to remember new information, categorize objects, identify faces etc) continue past the 6 month period. Those that have done so show that many people report these problems persisting (but they are in the minority because THE MAJORITY OF STUDIES don't show this in that they fail to ask the question/ You would think that the number of cases of people who have ECT... It wouldn't be so hard to give them a cognitive battery (of the kinds of things patients report problems with) both before the treatment and during their relapse so they are matched for emotional state lol. Good luck getting funding for that one...).There are stocks and shares in companies that make ECT machines, too. Newer and better frequencies etc etc etc. Deep brain stimulation is where it is at these days...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:896175
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20090513/msgs/896406.html