Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression Alters Mitochondrial Serum Metabolites
This study examined whether ECT—a highly effective treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression—changes mitochondrial metabolism by measuring serum metabolites in 102 patients across three time points using NMR spectroscopy. ECT induced both acute metabolic changes (increased citrate, glucose, glutamine, pyruvate; decreased formate, phenylalanine) and sustained shifts in energy metabolism (increased alanine/pyruvate, decreased ketone bodies), with ketone body reduction associated with clinical improvement.