POST-ECT INCREASES IN MRI REGIONAL T-2 RELAXATION-TIMES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO COGNITIVE SIDE-EFFECTS - A PILOT-STUDY

This pilot study examined the hypothesis that magnetic resonance imaging T-2 relaxation times of specific brain regions increase after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and that these increases are related to the cognitive side effects of ECT. Six depressed patients undergoing unilateral ECT were studied. The results demonstrate significant post-ECT T-2 increases in the right and left thalamus, and suggest a correlation between regional T-2 increase and anterograde memory impairment following ECT. These findings are consistent with a post-ECT increase in brain water content (perhaps secondary to a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier) and suggest that this process may be related to the memory impairment following ECT.