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Insulin shock therapy (IST, also called Insulin Coma Therapy) is a treatment for schizophrenia, psychosis and drug addiction which involves injecting the patient with massive amounts of insulin, which causes convulsions and coma. It was discovered by Polish researcher Manfred Sakel in 1933 and was used well into the 1950s, being replaced by tranquilizing drugs and then later anti-psychotic drugs as well (which also have a sedative effect.) This form of shock treatment, along with Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), derived from the notion (later disproved) that epileptic convulsions and schizophrenic symptoms were never present at the same time in one patient. Methods of administering the treatment vary, and as there is no precise way of doing it, results from one doctor or institution cannot be validly compared against others.
The procedure involves giving the patient increasingly large doses of insulin, which reduce the blood sugar and bring on a coma. Typically, after being in the comatose state for about an hour, the procedure is terminated by administering a warm saline solution via a stomach tube or by the intravenous injection of glucose.
IST had a higher success rate in schizophrenics who were ill for less than two years, as this was also the time period when ‘spontaneous recovery’ was most common.
The statistics from studies generally appear favorable as far as partial recovery, and even ‘full’ recovery, is concerned; however, it is often viewed as a cruel and unnecessary treatment option, especially with today’s modern psychiatric medications and variations in interpersonal psychotherapy (such as one-on-one and group talk therapy.)
Complications
Epileptic seizures occur during the beginning stages of treatment, roughly 45 – 100 minutes into the procedure, but before the onset of the comatose state. Seizures occurring during the coma are more dangerous, requiring immediate interruption of the procedure and the ending of the comatose state, and may be followed by delayed recovery or severe shock.
Various complications also occur from the comatose state reaching excessive depth, which also calls for immediate termination of the procedure. Administrators will monitor the patient’s vital signs, among other things, to determine the level of danger present.
Irreversable Coma
This is an obviously dangerous state where unconsciousness persists even after the administration of the proper amounts of saline solution and/or glucose. Severe cases resemble Anoxia (a condition where the entire body, or isolated areas, aren’t receiving enough oxygen), with the patient writhing about, hypertonia, and vascular shock. The milder cases may involved delayed local recovery, such as the paralysis of a single limb, aphasia, and confusion. More severe cases may involve many days of unconsciousness, but death is usually avoided.
See also
External links/Bibliography
- The Insulin Treatment of Schizophrenia
- The History of Shock Therapy in Psychiatry
- Drug Treatment in Modern Psychiatry
History of neuroscience | Psychiatric treatments | Schizophrenia
"Insulin shock therapy"