Zhongguo quanke yixue (Jan 2022)
Modified Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Schizophrenia:Curative Effect and Responses of Neurotransmitters in Brain and Different Brain Regions
Abstract
BackgroundNeurotransmitters in multiple brain regions in schizophrenia patients have been extensively studied using encephal of luctuograph in terms of functional features, and also been explored using modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) regarding their responses to MECT, but responses of neurotransmitters in a specific region to MECT have been rarely examined.ObjectiveTo examine pre- and post-treatment changes of neurotransmitters in brain and different brain regions in patients with schizophrenia with MECT, and to investigate the possible neurobiological mechanism of MECT.MethodsFifty-one schizophrenia patients were recruited from Changzhou Dean Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. All of them had signed the written informed consent form of receiving MECT prior to the participation in the study, and received MECT with unchanged antipsychotic medications during the study period. Scores of new 5-factor model of the PANSS (20 items) , neurotransmitters in brain and different brain regions 24 hours before the first MECT and 24 hours after the end of MECT were compared among all patients.ResultsCompared with those 24 hours before the first MECT, scores of positive factor, negative factor, hostile excitement, anxiety and depression, cognitive and total PANSS score, as well as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in brain and left posterior brain region, and glutamate (Glu) in left posterior brain region significantly decreased, but dopamine (DA) in brain and right frontal brain region significantly increased 24 hours after the end of MECT (P<0.05) .ConclusionMECT has certain anti psychotic effect in patients with schizophrenia, its neurobiological mechanism may be related with the influence on GABA and DA in brain, GABA and Glu in left posterior brain region, as well as DA in right frontal brain region.
Keywords