INVOLUTIONAL ILLNESSES : A Survey of 379 Patients, Including Follow-Up Study of 114

Judging from a study of 379 sanitarium patients with follow-up information on 114, the previously reported effectiveness of convulsive therapy in involutional psychoses, especially in depressions, is reaffirmed, as is the low incidence of complications with such therapy. At present, convulsive therapy, supplemented by less intensive psychotherapy (as contrasted with psychoanalysis) appears to be the therapeutic program of choice in these patients. With a therapeutic orientation, the diagnostic term involutional psychoses appears to retain its usefulness. Further study of motor discharge in induced convulsions may help elucidate the mechanisms of psychotic depressions. Other long-range follow-up studies would be of value in determining the future course and ultimate results of electroconvulsive therapy in patients who have suffered from involutional illnesses.