[Electroconvulsive therapy in the treatment of depression in the elderly].

In this paper we discuss seven cases of major depression in elderly (age > 60) treated with ECT. Six suffered from unipolar disorder and one from bipolar; four of them had psychotic features. In all patients at least some improvement was gained. Memory impairment appeared in two patients, however in one case no abnormalities in neuropsychological tests were found; in the second patient memory impairment, which could have been seen before treatment, became slightly more pronounced. In one patient after injection used for anaesthesia convulsion (type grand mal) occurred, but when the medicine was changed all ECT sessions were successful without any side effects. In three patients ECT had been successfully used before and was still efficient during our study. In other three patients ECT as prevention is still being used. Our first experience with ECT in elderly patients is highly encouraging, especially after careful selection of patients.