Newsletter 1 Chronological - Coloured

Newsletter - Number 1 The Basic Facts on ECT The position of the legislation is that ECT is safe and effective, however the real position is that ECT is neither safe nor effective as a treatment for depression nor other mental illnesses. The real position as substantiated by scientific research is as follows: 1956 In a 1956 letter published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, ECT pioneer Lothar Kalinowsky admitted to "personal communications on (ECT) fatalities which remain unpublished because of understandable fear of lawsuitsi." 1960’s Prior to the 1970s, it was not disputed that ECT caused brain damage and this denial corresponded to an increase in litigation for medical negligenceii. 1969 Another reason why ECT should be banned is that it causes memory loss. There is also compelling evidence from autopsies that ECT causes brain damageiii. 1976 Winokur’s study found no significant improvement in the suicide rate compared to matched controls who had not received shock treatmentiv. 1978 Psychiatrist, Dr. Lee Coleman said "The changes one sees when electroshock is administered, are completely consistent with any acute brain injury, such as a blow to the head from a hammer. In essence, what happens is that the individual is dazed, confused, and disoriented, and therefore cannot appreciate current problemsv." 1980 From 1975 to 1980, the use of ECT declined by 46%, if the assertion that ECT had a prophylactic effect on suicide were true, then, there would have been an increase in suicide, in fact, the suicide rate dropped despite population growth!vi In 1980, a study of 90 patients revealed that of those who committed suicide 10% of patients had had ECT within the previous four months. Two ended their lives whilst in hospital, and seven did so shortly after being dischargedvii. 1987

Psychiatrist Lee Coleman, says of modern ECT "Since neither the brain nor electricity has changed since the Thirties, the result is still the same - brain damageviii." 1988 The main arguments for the use of ECT in the treatment of depression are that it is more effective and works more rapidly than drugs. Rifkin reviewed nine controlled studies but found that all of the studies were badly flawed. He could find no conclusive evidence that ECT was more effective than antidepressantsix. In studies by Babigan and Guttmacher, both of which have large sample sizes and use matched controls it was convincingly demonstrated that ECT makes patients more prone to suicidex. 1998 One aspect of ECT that requires careful clarification is that it is often stated that modern ECT does not cause the same problems as the old ECT. Modern ECT is often referred to as “modified ECT”. In fact contemporary ECT actually uses larger doses of current than old ECT and is more dangerousxi. 2004 Dr. Colin Ross, a psychiatrist, explains that existing ECT literature shows “there is a lot of brain damage, there is memory loss, the death rate does go up, and the suicide rate doesn’t go down. [I]f those are the facts from a very well-designed, big study, then you’d have to conclude we shouldn’t do ECTxii.” Bruce Wiseman in his book Psychiatry the Ultimate Betrayal points out that a great many Physicians and non-Physicians alike manage to deal with suicidal patients without ever resorting to ECTxiii. 2005 First ever verdict in favor of electroshock victim Jury sides with victim, awards $635,000. A South Carolina woman has become the first survivor of ECT (“electroconvulsive therapy” or “shock treatment”) to prevail in a court of law. It was found that because of an intensive course of shock in 2000, Peggy S. Salters lost all memory of the previous 30 years of her life. She could not recall her husband or her children, nor could she recall the details of her educationxiv. 2007 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 functionxv. Section 88 of the Mental Health Bill 2006 deals with offences relating to the administration of ECT (cf 1990 Act, ss 180-182). It is recommended that the treatment be banned. To re-cap everything, it is all summed up in this comment on Sackeim’s statement: “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.”

Rochelle Macredie BA BSc LLB Oliveri Lawyers 0407 896832 [email protected]

i

http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/8376

37. Wiseman op cit p. 138. Those who support ECT, claim that modern ECT does not cause brain damage. ii

iii

Podnov, A. Psychiatry, 1969, pp. 138-141

Avery D and Winokur, G “Mortality in depressed patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy and depressants”, Archives of General Psychiatry 33 (1976), 1029-1037 iv

Coleman, L. "Introduction" from Frank, L. (Ed.), The History of Shock Treatment, San Francisco California. 1978 p. xiii v

Statistical Abstracts of the United States, US Department of Commerce, 1987, p. 79. In 1975, 27,063 suicides were recorded. In 1980 there were 26,869. vi

Roy, A. "Risk Factors for Suicide in Psychiatric Patients", Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 39. September 1982, p. 1093. vii

viii

Coleman, L. from Tame, A, "Shock Treatment" Penthouse, 1987

Rifkin, A. ECT versus tricyclic antidepressants in depression: A review of evidence, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 49 (1988) 3 –7 ix

Babigan, H and and Guttmacher L, “Epidemiologic considerations in electroconvulsive therapy”, Archives of General Psychiatry p. 9 (p. 5 of abstract) x

Breggin, Dr Peter “Electroshock: scientific, ethical, and political issues” International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine 11 (1998) 5-40 IOS Press) p.1 Abstract xi

xii

Information from the website http://www.cchr.com/index.cfm/9027/5677

Wiseman B. Psychiatry the Ultimate Betrayal Freedom Publishing L.A. 1995 p. 129 xiii

xiv

http://www.cchr.com/index.cfm/9027/5677

This article can be found on the internet at the following address: Committee for Truth in Psychiatry: http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/pdf/1301180a.pdf xv