Blunted TSH response to TRH and seizure duration in ECT

• Published in: Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 1999-01, Vol.99 (1), p.68-72
• Main Authors: Papakostas, Y. G., Markianos, M., Pehlivanidis, A., Zervas, I. M., Papadimitriou, G. N., Stefanis, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; Cross-Over Studies; depression; Electroconvulsive therapy; Electroconvulsive Therapy - adverse effects; Female; Humans; hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis; hypothalamic‐pituitary‐thyroid axis, thyrotropin‐releasing hormone, thyrotropin: blunted TSH response to TRH, seizure duration, depression; Key words: electroconvulsive therapy; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; seizure duration; Seizures - etiology; Thyrotropin - blood; Thyrotropin - metabolism; thyrotropin-releasing hormone; Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone - pharmacology; thyrotropin: blunted TSH response to TRH; Treatments
• ISSN: 0001-690X; 1600-0447
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1999.tb05386.x

The relationship between the thyrotropin (TSH) response to thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) and the duration of seizures induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depressed patients was investigated. In a balanced‐order cross‐over design, 16 depressed women were given 0.4 mg TRH or placebo intravenously, 20 min before ECT in the first two sessions. In the third ECT session TRH was given just prior to ECT. Thyrotropin (TSH) levels at various sampling times, as well as the duration of seizures, were measured. There was a significant inverse correlation between plasma TSH concentrations 20 min after TRH administration (ΔTSH) and seizure duration, Furthermore, when patients were categorized according to their TSH response to TRH, the group with blunted responses (ΔTSH6 μIU/mL, n = 9). Finally, the seizure duration in the group with blunted TSH responses was reduced significantly when TRH was co‐administered, while it remained unchanged in the group with non‐blunted TSH responses. It is concluded that a blunted TSH response to TRH might indicate a seizure susceptibility as measured by the duration of seizures induced by ECT. The fact that TRH pre‐administration had a reducing effect suggests that this substance might be involved in the pathophysiology of ECT‐induced seizures.