Open comparative study with treatment-refractory depressed patients: electroconvulsive therapy--anesthetic therapy with isoflurane (preliminary report).

Isoflurane is the only routine volatile anesthetic which leads to a burst-suppression EEG in nontoxic concentrations and for which no memory impairments can be expected subsequent to anesthesia. After electrically induced spike-wave activity in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a brief period of a very flat EEG can be observed. This phenomenon may be closely related to the therapeutic effects of ECT. The results which have been achieved up to now in comparing ECT to anesthetic therapy with isoflurane, without seizures being induced, are presented.