title: Electroconvulsive therapy in a man with autism experiencing severe depression, catatonia, and self-injury.
abstract: We report the successful use of electroconvulsive therapy in a 19-year-old man with autism and mild mental retardation who developed severe depression with repeated suicide attempts, multiple symptoms of catatonia, and life-threatening repetitive self-injurious behaviors. After 3 years of failed psychotropic and behavioral interventions in inpatient settings, the patient demonstrated excellent remission of symptoms with bilateral electroconvulsive therapy.
authors.affiliation: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21209, USA. wachtel@kennedykrieger.org
authors.forename: Lee Elizabeth
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Wachtel
authors.forename: Merrie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Irving Michael
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Reti
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002389:Catatonia / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs