Introduction to Study:
ECT was invented nearly 8 decades ago as a treatment for schizophrenia. Doctors have been using it for treating schizophrenia. However, its benefits in schizophrenia, particularly for those who have not experienced improvement with medicines, has not been established beyond doubt. As we said earlier, during ECT, anesthesia is administered. Earlier research has shown that some patients who receive anesthesia alone, without electrically induced seizures, also experience improvement. This is also known as sham ECT. To know whether ECT is indeed helpful, the outcomes of patients who receive true ECT (i.e., anesthesia and ECT) should be directly compared with outcomes of those who receive sham ECT. The most important purpose of this study is to compare the effects and adverse effects of true ECT with sham ECT.
Doctors have observed that some patients experience improvement with ECT, and others do not. Currently, we are unable to predict which patients experience improvement. The second purpose of this study is to identify predictors of response to ECT, using research investigations (details provided in information booklet). In addition, this research might help us to understand the mechanism by which improvement occurs.
Study Information Booklet – ECT for Clozapine resistant or intolerant Schizophrenia
General Information about ECT- ECT Information booklet
