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Cerebral and Brain Stem Changes After ECT Revealed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

A. J. Mander*
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital
A. Whitfield
Affiliation:
Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
D. M. Kean
Affiliation:
NMR Imaging Unit, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
M. A. Smith
Affiliation:
NMR Imaging Unit, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
R. H. B. Douglas
Affiliation:
NMR Imaging Unit, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh
R. E. Kendell
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
*
Professorial Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF

Extract

Nuclear magnetic resonance images of the brain were obtained in fourteen patients with major depression during a course of ECT. The T1, relaxation time rose immediately after the fit reaching a maximum 4–6 h later. The T1, values then returned to their original level; no long-term increase occurred over the course of treatment. These results are consistent with an extensive but temporary breakdown of the blood-brain barrier during ECT.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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