BRAIN CHANGES IN ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY
LEO MADOW M. D.1
1 Department of Neurology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa.
1. The brains of 4 patients who died following electroshock treatment were studied.
2. A massive intraventricular hemorrhage was found in one. The other 3 had petechial hemorrhages, particularly in the periaqueductal gray matter and brainstem.
3. Only 1 case could be considered a cerebral death, the other 3 dying of cardiac failure.
4. The literature on animal experiments and reports on human beings are reviewed and discussed.
5. If the individual being treated is well physically, most of the neuropathological changes are reversible. If, on the other hand, the patient has cardiac, vascular, or renal disease, the cerebral changes, chiefly vascular, may be permanent.
