Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits, Prominent Researcher Admits

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59631

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits,

Prominent Researcher Admits

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry News

Article Date: 22 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PST

In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in

January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University

reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and

permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to

function.

" This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that

adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they

characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings, " the study notes.

For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT

researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia

and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. Psychologist Sackeim

also taught a generation of ECT practitioners that permanent amnesia from ECT is

so rare that it could not be studied. He asserted that most people who said the

treatment erased years of memory were mentally ill and thus not credible.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than 3

million people have received ECT over the past generation. " Those patients who

reported permanent adverse effects on cognition have now had their experiences

validated, " said Andre, head of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry, a

national organization of ECT recipients.

Since the mid-1980s, Sackeim worked as a consultant to the ECT device

manufacturer Mecta Corp. He never revealed his financial interest in ECT to

NIMH, as required by federal law, and, until 2002, did not reveal it to New York

officials as required by state law. Neuropsychopharmacology has endured negative

publicity over its failure to disclose financial conflicts of journal authors,

resulting in the editor's resignation and a promise to disclose such conflicts

in the future; yet there is no disclosure of Sackeim's long-term relationship

with Mecta, nor did Sackeim disclose his financial conflict when his NIMH grant

was renewed to 2009 at approximately $500,000 per year.

The six-month study followed about 250 patients in New York City hospitals, an

unusually large number; most ECT studies are based on 20 to 30 patients.

Sackeim's previously published studies were short term, making it impossible to

assess long-term effects. " However, in other contexts over the years -- court

depositions, communications with mental health officials, and grant protocols --

Sackeim has claimed to follow up patients for as long as five years. This raises

serious questions as to how long he has actually known of the existence and

prevalence of permanent amnesia and why it wasn't revealed until now, " Andre

said.

Besides finding that ECT routinely causes substantial and permanent amnesia, the

study contradicts Sackeim's oft-published statements that ECT increases

intelligence and that patients who report permanent adverse effects are mentally

ill.

" The study is a stunning self-repudiation of a 25-year career, " Andre said.

Committee for Truth in Psychiatry

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/pdf/1301180a.pdf

[Guest guest]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59631

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits,

Prominent Researcher Admits

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry News

Article Date: 22 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PST

In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in

January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University

reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and

permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to

function.

" This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that

adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they

characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings, " the study notes.

For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT

researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia

and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. Psychologist Sackeim

also taught a generation of ECT practitioners that permanent amnesia from ECT is

so rare that it could not be studied. He asserted that most people who said the

treatment erased years of memory were mentally ill and thus not credible.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than 3

million people have received ECT over the past generation. " Those patients who

reported permanent adverse effects on cognition have now had their experiences

validated, " said Andre, head of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry, a

national organization of ECT recipients.

Since the mid-1980s, Sackeim worked as a consultant to the ECT device

manufacturer Mecta Corp. He never revealed his financial interest in ECT to

NIMH, as required by federal law, and, until 2002, did not reveal it to New York

officials as required by state law. Neuropsychopharmacology has endured negative

publicity over its failure to disclose financial conflicts of journal authors,

resulting in the editor's resignation and a promise to disclose such conflicts

in the future; yet there is no disclosure of Sackeim's long-term relationship

with Mecta, nor did Sackeim disclose his financial conflict when his NIMH grant

was renewed to 2009 at approximately $500,000 per year.

The six-month study followed about 250 patients in New York City hospitals, an

unusually large number; most ECT studies are based on 20 to 30 patients.

Sackeim's previously published studies were short term, making it impossible to

assess long-term effects. " However, in other contexts over the years -- court

depositions, communications with mental health officials, and grant protocols --

Sackeim has claimed to follow up patients for as long as five years. This raises

serious questions as to how long he has actually known of the existence and

prevalence of permanent amnesia and why it wasn't revealed until now, " Andre

said.

Besides finding that ECT routinely causes substantial and permanent amnesia, the

study contradicts Sackeim's oft-published statements that ECT increases

intelligence and that patients who report permanent adverse effects are mentally

ill.

" The study is a stunning self-repudiation of a 25-year career, " Andre said.

Committee for Truth in Psychiatry

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/pdf/1301180a.pdf

[Guest guest]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59631

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits,

Prominent Researcher Admits

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry News

Article Date: 22 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PST

In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in

January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University

reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and

permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to

function.

" This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that

adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they

characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings, " the study notes.

For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT

researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia

and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. Psychologist Sackeim

also taught a generation of ECT practitioners that permanent amnesia from ECT is

so rare that it could not be studied. He asserted that most people who said the

treatment erased years of memory were mentally ill and thus not credible.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than 3

million people have received ECT over the past generation. " Those patients who

reported permanent adverse effects on cognition have now had their experiences

validated, " said Andre, head of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry, a

national organization of ECT recipients.

Since the mid-1980s, Sackeim worked as a consultant to the ECT device

manufacturer Mecta Corp. He never revealed his financial interest in ECT to

NIMH, as required by federal law, and, until 2002, did not reveal it to New York

officials as required by state law. Neuropsychopharmacology has endured negative

publicity over its failure to disclose financial conflicts of journal authors,

resulting in the editor's resignation and a promise to disclose such conflicts

in the future; yet there is no disclosure of Sackeim's long-term relationship

with Mecta, nor did Sackeim disclose his financial conflict when his NIMH grant

was renewed to 2009 at approximately $500,000 per year.

The six-month study followed about 250 patients in New York City hospitals, an

unusually large number; most ECT studies are based on 20 to 30 patients.

Sackeim's previously published studies were short term, making it impossible to

assess long-term effects. " However, in other contexts over the years -- court

depositions, communications with mental health officials, and grant protocols --

Sackeim has claimed to follow up patients for as long as five years. This raises

serious questions as to how long he has actually known of the existence and

prevalence of permanent amnesia and why it wasn't revealed until now, " Andre

said.

Besides finding that ECT routinely causes substantial and permanent amnesia, the

study contradicts Sackeim's oft-published statements that ECT increases

intelligence and that patients who report permanent adverse effects are mentally

ill.

" The study is a stunning self-repudiation of a 25-year career, " Andre said.

Committee for Truth in Psychiatry

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/pdf/1301180a.pdf

[Guest guest]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=59631

Electroconvulsive Therapy Causes Permanent Amnesia And Cognitive Deficits,

Prominent Researcher Admits

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry News

Article Date: 22 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PST

In a stunning reversal, an article in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology in

January 2007 by prominent researcher Harold Sackeim of Columbia University

reveals that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) causes permanent amnesia and

permanent deficits in cognitive abilities, which affect individuals' ability to

function.

" This study provides the first evidence in a large, prospective sample that

adverse cognitive effects can persist for an extended period, and that they

characterize routine treatment with ECT in community settings, " the study notes.

For the past 25 years, ECT patients were told by Sackeim, the nation's top ECT

researcher, that the controversial treatment doesn't cause permanent amnesia

and, in fact, improves memory and increases intelligence. Psychologist Sackeim

also taught a generation of ECT practitioners that permanent amnesia from ECT is

so rare that it could not be studied. He asserted that most people who said the

treatment erased years of memory were mentally ill and thus not credible.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that more than 3

million people have received ECT over the past generation. " Those patients who

reported permanent adverse effects on cognition have now had their experiences

validated, " said Andre, head of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry, a

national organization of ECT recipients.

Since the mid-1980s, Sackeim worked as a consultant to the ECT device

manufacturer Mecta Corp. He never revealed his financial interest in ECT to

NIMH, as required by federal law, and, until 2002, did not reveal it to New York

officials as required by state law. Neuropsychopharmacology has endured negative

publicity over its failure to disclose financial conflicts of journal authors,

resulting in the editor's resignation and a promise to disclose such conflicts

in the future; yet there is no disclosure of Sackeim's long-term relationship

with Mecta, nor did Sackeim disclose his financial conflict when his NIMH grant

was renewed to 2009 at approximately $500,000 per year.

The six-month study followed about 250 patients in New York City hospitals, an

unusually large number; most ECT studies are based on 20 to 30 patients.

Sackeim's previously published studies were short term, making it impossible to

assess long-term effects. " However, in other contexts over the years -- court

depositions, communications with mental health officials, and grant protocols --

Sackeim has claimed to follow up patients for as long as five years. This raises

serious questions as to how long he has actually known of the existence and

prevalence of permanent amnesia and why it wasn't revealed until now, " Andre

said.

Besides finding that ECT routinely causes substantial and permanent amnesia, the

study contradicts Sackeim's oft-published statements that ECT increases

intelligence and that patients who report permanent adverse effects are mentally

ill.

" The study is a stunning self-repudiation of a 25-year career, " Andre said.

Committee for Truth in Psychiatry

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/pdf/1301180a.pdf