Satisfactory response to electroconvulsive therapy in an autistic patient with severe self-injurious behavior

摘要

Recent studies have shown that self-injurious episodes in autism are due to catatonic symptoms.1-3 It has been theorized that these symptoms are caused by dysfunction of GABAergic receptors.2 This report describes a case in which electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was used successfully to treat self-injury in a patient with severe autism and highlights the viability of ECT as a therapeutic option for this population.