Depressed subjects with higher pretreatment central cordance appear to be more likely to experience therapeutic benefits of ECT. The location of central electrodes over the cingulate cortex may indicate that pretreatment cingulate activity is associated with response to ECT.

We compared the effects of amlodipine (5-10 mg, n=94) and losartan (50-100 mg, n=94) on the lowering of blood pressure (BP) at steady state and after two missed doses, as well as on tolerability. This was a randomized, double-blind study of 12 weeks of active treatment followed by 2 days of placebo treatment. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and office BP measurements were performed at baseline, week 12 and after the 2-day drug holiday. After 12 weeks, amlodipine was significantly more effective than losartan in reducing both 24-h systolic blood pressure (SBP) (-18.0 versus -10.8 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (-10.6 versus -8.0 mmHg). While mean SBP and DBP for both treatments increased comparably during the drug holiday, BP values remained significantly lower than baseline for both treatments. The superior BP-lowering effect of amlodipine compared with losartan was maintained during the drug holiday.

No abstract