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Two recent studies tackled the question of how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) affects patients' subjective memory worsening (SMW).
Brus and colleagues examined Swedish registry data on SMW reported by 1212 patients (mean age, 53) on a structured instrument from ≤1 week before a course of ECT to ≤1 week afterwards. Overall, 26% endorsed SMW. SMW was more common in women and in younger patients, in patients receiving brief versus ultrabrief pulse stimulation, and in patients with less subjective memory impairment before the ECT course; lithium was the only medication associated with SMW. Type of depression (bipolar or unipolar, psychotic or nonpsychotic), frequency and duration of stimulation, and electrode placement (unilateral, bilateral, o…