Positive Response to Bilateral Sinusoidal ECT in Unilateral and Bilateral Brief-pulse "ECT-Resistant" Depressive Illness.

Six patients who failed to respond to what would ordinarily be considered therapeutically effective courses of sequential unilateral nondominant (mean number 10) and bilateral brief-pulse electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (mean number 10) with electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring of seizure duration (all seizures >30 s) subsequently received courses of bilateral sinusoidal ECT (mean number 6) and responded well. Some theoretical implications and clinical considerations raised by these cases are discussed.