Changes in the Electroencephalogram and in the Excretion of 17-Ketosteroids Accompanying Electro-Shock Therapy of Agitated Depression

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Abstract
In the present paper, studies of a series of [female] patients suffering from agitated depressions. These [female] [female] were given convulsant electro-shock therapy. During the pre-treatment, treatment, and post-treatment periods, urine specimens were collected which were analyzed for 17-ketosteroid content. The purpose of this investigation was to find out whether those patients show a low ratio of morning to night values of 17-ketosteroid excretion, and whether the ratios would be normalized by shock therapy. In a previous paper of these authors, it was found that the excretion of 17-ketosteroids by psychotic patients is different from that of normal persons. Normal persons show a marked diurnal rhythm of excretion which psychotics frequently lack. On rising in the morning, the normal person increases the output of 17-ketosteroids some 60% over the night level, whereas psychotic patients usually do not show this morning increase. The results of this investigation were that the 17-ketosteroid ratios of these patients in the pre-treatment period were all low compared to the mean normal value of 1.60 and ranged from 0.74 to 1.16. During treatment, the values are seen to rise markedly, and there was a slight mean tendency for the ratio to fall again in the post-treatment period. The possible significance of these findings is discussed in this paper in terms of questions they raise for future exploration.