Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:1151-1152
Copyright © 1997 by American Psychiatric Association
Lack of relapse with tryptophan depletion following successful treatment with ECT
F Cassidy, E Murry, RD Weiner and BJ Carroll
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Although the antidepressant mechanism of ECT is unknown, there
are considerable data to support serotonergic involvement. The effects of
tryptophan depletion were studied in patients with major depression treated
successfully with ECT. METHOD: Five patients who had been successfully
treated with ECT for major depression were studied in a randomized,
double-blind, crossover design comparing tryptophan depletion to a placebo
procedure. RESULTS: No effect of tryptophan depletion on mood symptoms was
observed despite more than an 85% decrease in total serum tryptophan.
CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that presynaptic serotonin availability may
not be necessary for the acute maintenance of an antidepressant response to
ECT.
