The Maintenance Treatment of Chronic Psychotics by Electrically Induced Convulsions
Chronic psychotics whose behaviour endangered their health, constituted a serious nursing problem, or whose mental state was one of misery were treated with electrically induced convulsions repeated at intervals, with the object of maintaining the improvement achieved after an initial course of treatment or of cutting short a particular phase of illness.

The patients included 37 chronic schizophrenics, 8 involutional and senile melancholias, 6 manic-depressives, 3 periodic catatonics and 2 mental defectives. All cases responded favourably except 11 of the schizophrenic group.

In some cases treatment has been in progress for over two years.

Clinical observation shows no appreciable deterioration in personality or intelligence as a result of continued therapy.

The results are discussed and an attempt made to correlate them with theories of convulsion therapy.