ECT response after relapse during continuation repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. A case report.
Research on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) indicates that the treatment of non-psychotic depression is comparable to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in terms of short-term outcome. We report on a woman who exerted a recurrent moderate major depressive episode, 6 months after discontinuation of maintenance ECT. She responded to acute rTMS treatment which was followed by the rTMS maintenance-protocol. Within 2 months of continuation rTMS she relapsed suffering from a severe non psychotic depressive episode and had to be switched to a successful ECT. In this patient rTMS had a good clinical impact as an acute treatment strategy, but failed to prevent relapse as the continuation ECT previously did in the same patient.
Conca
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A
Department of Psychiatry I, Regional Hospital of Rankweil, LKH Rankweil, Valunastr. 16, Rankweil 6830, Austria. andreas.conca@lkhr.at
Hrubos
W
W
Di Pauli
J
J
König
P
P
Hausmann
A
A
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014810:Vitamin E