Sir, Matthew Parris’s accusation that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) lacks a scientific evidence base cannot go unchallenged (“Pouring billions into treating mental illness doesn’t add up”, Nov 24). Collated evidence from multiple double-blind randomised controlled trials of ECT in depressive illness show that it is more effective than a sham procedure and also superior to drug treatment. Despite Mr Parris’s claim that surgeons know that their operations work, few surgical treatments have been subjected to studies of the same scientific rigour. Mr Parris seeks the identity of the Harveys, Haldanes or Listers of psychiatry. I suggest László Meduna, who used scientific method to hypothesise a therapeutic effect of induced convulsions in mental illness, successfully testing this using drug-induced seizures, and Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini, who…

Source: The Times November 27, 2018 00:00 UTC