Neuroanatomical Features That Predict Response to Electroconvulsive Therapy Combined with Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Using Radiomics Strategy

Many patients who have schizophrenia do not receive adequate treatment due to their failure to respond to antipsychotics. With over 30% of patients with schizophrenia demonstrating poor response to antipsychotics, there was a need to determine early if a patient would be responsive or not (Xi et al., 2020). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective alternative for treating chronic patients with refractory symptoms. ECT is only used for patients who have demonstrated unsuccessful treatment using antipsychotic medication. ECT can provoke cognitive impairment, and it is invasive compared to pharmacotherapy and costly. Therefore, before it is used for treating the patient, health care professionals should determine if the patient will be responsive to the treatment. The use of neuroimaging tools offers vital insights for assessing the likelihood of a patient responding positively to treatment. The study investigates if brain structure-based signature can be used to predict...

There was a total of 57 patients used as the sample for the study at baseline. After treatment using ECT and antipsychotics, 28 patients were classified as responders and 29 non-responders (Xi et al., 2020). The authors found that they could accurately determine the responders with an...…we should always include neuroanatomy before implementing any treatment regimen. Neuroanatomy can uncover other cerebral makers that can determine treatment efficacy before it is administered to a patient. While other biomarkers are being used to predict other treatment plans, we should endeavor to uncover other alternatives to ensure and confirm the efficacy of a treatment (Schildkrout, 2017). Structural MRI offers vital information on mental disorders like brain structure features. Using data from the structural MRI, we can transform clinical practice by eliminating the use of specific treatments on non-responsive patients. Also, we can be confident that the initiated treatment will assist the patient and only await the recovery or management…