Use of liothyronine in preventing electroconvulsive therapy-induced memory impairment: Evaluation

Abstract

Aims and method: To evaluate the effect of liothyronine administration on the cognitive side-effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), 30 participants with major depressive disorder that were suitable candidates for ECT were randomly allocated to either a liothyronine or a placebo group. Participants in the liothyronine group received a daily 50 μg dose for the whole period of receiving ECT starting the day before ECT, whereas the other group received a placebo. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and the Wechsler Memory Scale - revised (WMS-R) were used for evaluating mood and memory before the first ECT session and after the sixth session (the HRSD was also used after the third session). Results: The results indicated that after the sixth ECT session, participants that received liothyronine achieved significantly better scores on the HRSD and WMS-R. Clinical implications: Further studies with a larger number of participants, through multicentre research projects, are indicated to obtain adequate data for meta-analysis and systematic review.