White Matter Hyperintensities and Cognitive Impairment During Electroconvulsive Therapy in Severely Depressed Elderly Patients

Depressed elderly patients with WMH who receive bilateral ECT are at increased risk of transient cognitive impairment. Our findings show, however, that cognitive impairment improves when ECT is continued. This implies that ECT does not have to be discontinued when patients experience transient cognitive impairment during ECT.