[Effect of bilateral and unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the composition of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A possibility to calculate the intracellular redox changes of the brain in humans (author's transl)].

The changes in the composition of CSF and venous blood under the effect of bilateral and unilateral ECT were studied. The intracellular redox changes during the therapy were calculated on the basis of experimental data. Of the patients, 27 were treated with bilateral, another 27 with unilateral ECT. Just before the electroshock, the patients were paralyzed with intravenous succinylcholine chloride and were artificially ventilated with O2. The characteristic change we found was the augmentation of pyruvate concentration in CSF. This change and the calculated shift of NADH/NAD+ ratio in the direction of oxidation refer to the disturbance of the function of enzymes which play a role in the oxidation-reduction processes.