Key result
Higher cortical tau accumulation strongly correlates with a higher percentage of effective ECT seizures.
Why the study?
Neuroimaging studies examining predictors of ECT responsiveness are scarce, and tau accumulation may be related to seizure susceptibility.
Does tau accumulation correlate with susceptibility to effective seizures in patients with mood disorders undergoing ECT?
Observational (n=14)
No
Does tau accumulation correlate with susceptibility to effective seizures in patients with mood disorders undergoing ECT?
Effect estimate: Correlation coefficient 0.68
p-value: p=0.0076
Tau accumulation measured by PET may predict susceptibility to effective seizures during ECT, suggesting ECT could be particularly effective for depression associated with neurodegenerative pathology.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a very valuable treatment for mood disorders. While previous studies have examined predictors of ECT responsiveness, there is a scarcity of neuroimaging studies examining these predictors. In previous studies, it has been reported that epilepsy is significantly more common in patients with Alzheimer's disease, and it has been suggested that tau accumulation is related to the susceptibility to seizures. Positron emission tomography (PET) with florzolotau (18 F) ([¹⁸F]PM-PBB3) allows accurate quantification of tau in the brain cortex. We therefore performed tau PET with florzolotau (18 F) in 14 patients with mood disorders undergoing ECT to determine whether there is a relationship between tau accumulation and susceptibility to ECT. As a result, we found that the more tau accumulates, the more likely it is to produce effective seizures in ECT. Although our study has some limitations, it is suggested that ECT would be the first choice for treatment of depression associated with degenerative pathology such as Alzheimer's disease because tau accumulation might enhance the therapeutic efficacy of ECT.
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Ohya et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Depression (n=14). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was evaluated on Correlation between mean cortical florzolotau (18F) SUVR and the percentage of effective seizures obtained during a course of ECT (Correlation coefficient 0.68, p=0.0076). Higher cortical tau accumulation was significantly correlated with a higher percentage of effective seizures during electroconvulsive therapy in patients with depression (correlation coefficient 0.68).
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