IntroductionEpilepsy is considered a complex neurological disorder, and its clinical picture can resemble many different cerebral dysfunctions, including those associated to major psychiatric disorders.Case reportWe report the case of a 52-year-old gentleman, with a 30-year history of schizoaffective disorder and of complex partial epilepsy with secondary generalization. He was admitted to an emergency room due to a voluntary overdose with 8 mg of clonazepam. The patient explained how he had recently experienced visual hallucinations and insomnia, symptoms that originally led to the psychotic diagnosis. He had previously presented these symptoms, along with stupor, delusions and lability, as a prodrome of complex motor epileptic decompensations. Thus, he took the overdose not to suffer seizures. After carefully reconstructing the clinical history, psychiatric admissions had shown seizures, and periods of clinical stability had been achieved by regulating antiepileptic medication. Eslicarbazepine and lamotrigine reintroduction, and quetiapine withdrawal, led to symptomatic remission.DiscussionEpilepsy and major psychiatric disorders show a high comorbidity. There has been an effort to even include epilepsy and psychosis in a unique diagnosis (alternant psychosis). Furthermore, polimorphism and restitutio ad integrum may resemble classic cycloid psychosis. In this case, chronological study showed all symptoms could be explained by one disorder.ConclusionEpilepsy includes a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms. It can be difficult to withdraw psychiatric diagnoses from patients after years of follow-up. However, a carefully taken medical history clarifies temporal criteria.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
IntroductionPsychiatric symptoms set forth brain dysfunction at several levels. Behavioral disturbances, although frequently associated to primary psychiatric disorders, call for a previous discard of neurologic treatable causes.Case reportWe report the case of a 30-year-old gentleman, receiving outpatient psychological treatment and follow-up for a 3-month history of low mood, abulia, apathy, generalized malaise, weight loss and insomnia. Non-structured jealous delusions were also present. No neurological deficit was found. After CT of the brain, a space occupying lesion, suggestive of glioblastoma multiforme, was found. Further studies, including biopsy and a MR, led to the diagnosis of central nervous system Chagas, related to a previously unknown HIV infection in AIDS status, and conditioning a secondary central hipothyroidism. Careful treatment of the etiological factors, along with symptomatic relieve with low dose paliperidone, led to the resolution of the symptoms.DiscussionThe majority of patients suffering from neurologic diseases develop psychiatric symptoms over the course of their illness, with or without the presence of classical disturbances, such as weakness, sensory loss or seizures. Modern psychiatry uses a complex disease model, therefore necessarily integrating anatomy, biochemistry and function during every diagnostic approach.ConclusionIt is necessary to rule out frequent treatable causes, thus involving both psychopatological and neuroscientific approach to psychiatric disturbances. However, while underlying causes are often difficult to treat, psychiatric symptoms respond to existing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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