Electroconvulsive therapy for major depression in borderline personality disorder

Depressive disorder is a serious and frequent complication in borderline personality disorder (BPD), however, its severity tends to be neglected particularly if symptoms are short-lived or inconsistent as is common in patients with BPD. Yet the high frequency in these patients requires especially rapid and effective therapy to reduce the risks of vital endangerment, chronification and psychosocial impairment. Efficient crisis intervention is essential for continuity of the disease-specific multimodal therapy enabling lasting remission and social and vocational rehabilitation in BPD. In particular with regard to the high incidence of poor or failed pharmacological responses in patients with BPD, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is of significant relevance among antidepressant treatment options. Despite the wide consensus on its efficacy, there are only few selected trials on ECT for major depression (MD) in BPD. This review summarises the published original studies on this issue, and critically scrutinises indication, benefits and risks of ECT for MD in BPD. It contributes to a focused, discriminating view on ECT and thus enables an optimised patient-oriented, efficient indication for MD in BPD.