ANTIDEPRESSANT THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF MIANSERIN-INDUCED GENERALIZED TONIC-CLONIC SEIZURE IN AN ELDERLY PATIENT

Generalized tonic-clinic seizures may appear as a side-effect of all a ntidepressant drugs, including mianserin. We present here a case of an 83-year-old woman whose major depressive episode (superimposed on mil d dementia) completely resolved following a generalized tonic-clonic s eizure. The improvement, which was maintained for 3 months, may be att ributable to the drug-induced single convulsion. It would be of intere st to know whether other psychiatrists have had similar experiences co ncerning an immediate antidepressant effect to a single tonic-clonic s eizure (drug-induced or provoked by electroconvulsive therapy). If a s ubgroup of patients responsive to single generalized tonic-clonic seiz ure were to exist (especially among elderly patients), it would allow them to receive a minimal number of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) se ssions, decreasing the probability of the appearance of ECT side-effec ts.