Trial reportBrain and behavior2026
Electroconvulsive Therapy in Schizophrenia: Exploratory Study on the Efficacy, Cognitive Effects, and Safety of Right Unilateral Versus Bitemporal Techniques.
Trial report in Brain and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06972745 (Cohort Study on Efficacy and Tolerance of Right Unilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy vs. Bitemporal in Patients With Paranoid Schizophrenia in Acute Psychosis at Fray Bernardino Álvarez Psychiatric Hospital), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The trial behind it
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Cohort Study on Efficacy and Tolerance of Right Unilateral Electroconvulsive Therapy vs. Bitemporal in Patients With Paranoid Schizophrenia in Acute Psychosis at Fray Bernardino Álvarez Psychiatric Hospital
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for resistant schizophrenia, although debate persists about the optimal electrode placement technique. Bitemporal stimulation (BTS) is the most commonly used, while right unilateral stimulation (RUS) is associated with fewer cognitive effects in other disorders.
methodsExploratory study including 17 patients randomized to BTS (n = 8) or RUS (n = 9). Symptoms and severity were assessed with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale, cognitive functions with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Brief Assessment of Cognitive in Schizophrenia (BACS). Symptomatic changes, frequency and time of onset of side effects, changes in cognitive performance, and specific functions were compared.
resultsBoth groups showed significant improvement in symptoms (ΔPANSS: BTS = 44.75 vs. RUS = 39.11; p = 0.724), with no differences in response rates (75% BTS vs. 44.4% RUS; p = 0.335). RUS required a lower stimulus to induce seizures (29.8 mC vs. 54 mC in BTS; p = 0.003). The BTS group showed deterioration in verbal fluency (BACS: p = 0.042), while the RUS showed improvement in motor speed (p = 0.046). There were no global differences in MoCA or BACS.
conclusionBoth techniques are equally effective in symptomatic reduction, but RUS could offer advantages as it requires less load and is associated with less deterioration in verbal fluency. These preliminary results have methodological limitations, mainly the sample size and lack of power calculation, but they may encourage further research.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT06972745.
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