Therapy of Catatonia in Schizophrenia and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Background: the study of catatonia’s treatment methods is one of the most important researchers’ tasks, nevertheless the common therapeutic strategies of cupping the catatonic phenomena haven’t been created yet. The aim: review to therapeutic interventions for catatonic disorders in schizophrenia.Materials and methods: according to the keywords “catatonia treatment”, “catatonia therapy”, publications found in the Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, eLibrary databases were selected and analyzed.Results: historical background, illustrating the development of catatonia treatment methods, is given; the results of the last decades scientific studies of catatonia’s treatment and preliminary results of own study, devoted to the effectiveness of diazepam and cariprazine in relieving catatonia manifestations are presented. Based on the studies’ results, presented in the review, it can be concluded that the most common modern method of treating catatonic disorders is the use of benzodiazepines, however, in some cases, the use of antipsychotics is also advisable. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains an important treatment for catatonic phenomena. There are also isolated clinical cases of successful testing of both: other pharmacological groups (antidepressants, dopaminergic and anticholinergic drugs, normothymic drugs, etc.) and non-drug interventions (transcranial magnetic stimulation — TMS) presented in modern research data.Conclusion: the effectiveness of benzodiazepines in catatonia, associated with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), remains controversial according to modern authors’ opinion. In turn, among antipsychotics, antipsychotics of the second and third generation seem to be safe for the treatment of psychomotor symptoms. In accordance with the results of our own study, catatonia in the structure of schizophrenia and SSD is heterogeneous and, depending on the psychopathological structure of catatonic disorders, a different reaction of psychomotor symptoms to therapeutic intervention was observed.