Effect of Bupropion on Seizure Threshold in Depressed Patients

Background and significance Depression is the leading cause of disability in individuals aged 15-44, resulting in 400 million disability days in a year (1). The total economic burden of the disease is estimated to be composed of $26.1 billion in direct medical costs, $5.4 billion in suicide-related mortality costs, and $51.5 billion in indirect workplace cost (1). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the gold-standard treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) that is severe (2-5). The standard method of ECT used in the US now is right unilateral ultra-brief study. RUL ECT uses a pulse width of </= 0.3 ms, this optimizes electrical dosing and causes decreased severity of cognitive side effects. With right unilateral ECT it is essential for the stimulus to be above seizure threshold. The stimulus dosing is titrated to establish what seizure threshold is and this is titrated over the course of ECT sessions (6). Because the maximum ECT output is limited by FDA, a frequent problem encountered by ECT clinicians is high seizure threshold which at times cannot be provided by the ECT device and this compromises efficacy (7). Hence it would be useful to develop means to lower seizure threshold.

In addition, some studies show a reduction in efficacy with ultra-brief as compared to brief ECT with the former requiring higher number of ECTs to achieve remission in depression symptoms (8). There represents a need for increasing the efficacy for RUL ultra brief ECT given its favorable cognitive-side effect profile. Combining RUL ultra brief ECT with appropriate psychopharmacological agents to alter seizure profile is a feasible way of optimizing the efficacy.

Design and Procedures The study is designed to evaluate the effect of bupropion on seizure threshold in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) referred for RUL ultra brief ECT. The study is powered to determine changes in seizure duration and seizure threshold by enrolling 10 subjects. The investigators plan to screen 20 subjects to have 10 participants. Potential participants will be discussed with the ECT team to which the patient would have been referred. Once a potential participant has been identified, a study team person will discuss the study and desire for participation in person with that individual during the ECT consult session which is needed prior to scheduling of the ECT session. If participants are found to be eligible they will be invited to participate in the study and the study will be initiated in conjunction with their first ECT session. Participants will go through the informed consent procedure. After providing informed consent participants will undergo a clinical assessment to confirm the inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Patients will receive ECT treatment as usual, but for this study if they choose to participate they will be randomized to receive bupropion (sustained release preparation 300 mg) (Wellbutrin ®), to be taken by mouth, in the morning (4 hours prior to ECT) on the day of ECT session 1 or session 2. There will be a one-time administration of bupropion at this dose with no discontinuation of medications that patient is already on. There will also be no washout period before bupropion administration or ECT.

The study is powered to determine changes in seizure duration and seizure threshold by enrolling 10 subjects (5 subjects will receive bupropion prior to ECT session 1 and 5 will receive it prior to ECT session 2). Counterbalanced randomization will be used to assign subject drug administration to ECT session 1 or 2 with inter-individual cross-over. The PI (Steven T Szabo Jr MD PhD) and coordinator (Gopalkumar Rakesh) would be blind to randomization details. Computer generated randomization would be done by Richard Weiner MD PhD - the director of the ECT program.

ECT administration The clinical procedure of ultra brief RUL ECT in these subjects will not be deviated from the usual procedure that is described below. ECT treatments will be provided three times a week, with standard right unilateral electrode placement with a MECTA spectrum device (MECTA Corporation, Portland, Ore.) with a pulse width </= 0.3 and a current of 0.8 A. A standard dose titration procedure to determine seizure threshold will be conducted at the first and second treatments, subjects would receive bupropion during one of these sessions. Subsequent treatments would be administered at 5.5 times seizure threshold from the treatment session without bupropion administration.

Clinical assessments The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) is an assessment tool for depression symptom severity and will be carried out at baseline at every ECT visit. This is usual practice that the ECT clinician employs prior to the clinical administration of ECT. The investigators will also measure time to orientation recovery post ECT after the first and second ECT treatments.

Blood Collection During ECT sessions 1 and 2, just prior to administration of right unilateral (RUL) ECT, patients will be placed with a venous catheter and the investigators will acquire from consenting study patients a serum sample to be used to ascertain serum bupropion level.