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Journal of Psychopharmacology
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0269881106067243v1
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Article

Electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression in a former ecstasy user

Roland W. Freudenmann1*, Carlos Schonfeldt-Lecuona1, Manfred Spitzer1, Georg Gron1, Leopold Hermle2

1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
2 Department of Psychiatry, Christophsbad, Göppingen, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.


  Abstract

Depression in former ecstasy users may not respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) possibly due to damaged serotonergic synapses following long-term heavy ecstasy use.

We report findings in a patient suffering from MDMA-induced depression which was refractory to several antidepressive medications including selective noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) and SSRI. An add-on repeated bilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was able to achieve a stable remission of affective and cognitive symptoms with a follow-up of more than 1.5 years.

Add-on ECT could be a treatment option in former ecstasy users with severe depressive disorders that fail to respond to SSRI and/or SNRI. Clinical trials are needed to evaluate further the usefulness of ECT in this patient group.

Key Words: MDMA, ecstasy, depression, 5-HT, neurotoxicity, electroconvulsive therapy

First published on August 4, 2006, doi:10.1177/0269881106067243

Journal of Psychopharmacology 2006;20:860.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2006

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