/sci/ - Science & Math

>>8501223
Org Chem major with an addiction to diagnostic Medicine with a focus on Psychiatry and Neurology here (it's what I'm going into after I finish my BSc). If you want me to parse through any journals and summarize the data and findings for you, I can do so.

On the article linked, it mainly assessed memory as a metric of cognitive ability, rather than broader tests to analyze problem-solving capacity, IQ, etc. Their findings were that ECT correlates to retrograde memory loss, which is quite well known, I think.

The most relevant and salient passage for you, I think, is found in the discussion:

"The demonstration of differences in the long-term cognitive outcomes as a function of hospital setting and treatment technique supports the conclusion that some forms of ECT have persistent long-term effects on cognitive performance. However, the findings do not indicate that the treatments with more benign outcomes are free of long-term effects. It is noteworthy, for example, that most cognitive parameters were substantially improved at 6-month follow-up relative to pre-ECT baseline, presumably because of the negative impact of the depressed state on baseline performance."

In summary: even though poor cognitive function occurs after ECT, it has usually improved by six months after treatment. Besides this, cognitive function is usually better than it was pre-treatment anyway, but they had insufficient data to compare it to the pre-morbid (pre-depression) level.

Later on, they mention that high premorbid IQs correlate to better outcomes, which is good news for you if you were in college with a realistic chance of entering Pharmacy school prior to your illness.

For advice on your present predicament, why don't you ask your doctor for modafinil, atomoxetine or other drugs that improve alertness and working memory? You will recover eventually in all likelihood, but if you need to become functional in the interim there are plenty of chemical ways to cheat.