FALL IN PLASMA PROTEIN LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH RAPID GAIN IN WEIGHT DURING COURSE OF ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY

Abstract

REMISSIONS induced by electroshock therapy in patients with depressions are usually ushered in by a gain in body weight. The mechanism of this gain in weight is obscure; the present study has been designed to throw light on this problem. MATERIAL AND METHODS Nine patients, 5 of them men, were studied. The ages ranged from 21 to 57 years. Hematocrit readings and determinations of plasma protein levels were made three times a week, the latter by the copper proteinate method,¹ using blood drawn without stasis when the patient was in the postabsorptive state. The patients were also weighed to the nearest pound on the days of these determinations. The diagnoses are tabulated as follows: OBSERVATIONS Patients Who Gained Weight. —Five patients, all of whom showed good clinical improvement during the course of electroshocks, gained 3 to 7 pounds (1.3 to 3.2 Kg.) during the period of treatment (fig. 1;