Parasomnia among psychiatric outpatients: a clinical, epidemiologic, cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiologic studies from general population and clinical case series suggest association of parasomnias with mental illnesses and psychotropic medications. This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the prevalence rate of sleepwalking, sleep-related eating disorder (SRED), rapid eye movement sleep behavior-like disorder (RSBD-like disorder), and sleep-related injury (SRI) and their associated factors in an adult psychiatric outpatient clinic. METHOD: Subjects aged 18 to 65 years who were attending an outpatient clinic in Hong Kong from May 2006 through June 2006 were included in this cross-sectional study. A 3-phase design was employed, including a structured questionnaire on parasomnias, followed by clinical interviews of both questionnaire-positive and -negative groups, and polysomnography for subjects having active parasomnias in recent 1 year. In addition, the principal psychiatric diagnoses, medical illnesses, and detailed drug history over recent 1 year were retrieved from the computerized records. RESULTS: Twelve hundred thirty-five subjects completed the phase 1 interview. The estimated prevalence of the lifetime diagnoses of sleepwalking, SRED, SRI, sleep violence, and RSBD-like disorder were 8.5%, 4.0%, 21.0%, 3.6%, and 5.8%, respectively, while the 1-year prevalence of these conditions were 2.9%, 2.4%, 8.8%, 2.5%, and 3.8%, respectively. These conditions were associated with depression and a constellation of sleep disturbances. Specific combinations of psychotropics were found to pose risk in particular parasomnias: sedative antidepressants and nonbenzodiazapine hypnotics in sleepwalking, regular zolpidem and antidepressants in SRED, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in RSBD-like disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Sleepwalking, SRED, RSBD-like disorder, and SRI were common and underrecognized among the psychiatric population in this study. Their occurrences were likely contributed by interacting effect of mental illnesses, sleep disturbances, and specific psychotropic medications. Further prospective study is warranted for clarification of the etiology and clinical management of these potentially dangerous and "hidden" parasomnias.

Fahr's disease: a differential diagnosis of frontal lobe syndrome.

Fahr's disease refers to a rare syndrome characterised by symmetrical and bilateral intracranial calcification. The basal ganglia are the most common site of involvement and most cases present with extra-pyramidal symptoms. We describe two men with Fahr's diseases who presented with prominent frontal lobe symptoms. The first man presented with frequent uncontrollable bursts of laughter and crying spells. He later developed mild dysarthric speech and choreoathetoid movement. The second man presented with progressive changes in personality and behaviour. In both cases, there were no parkinsonian features. Computed tomographic scans of both patients demonstrated extensive symmetrical calcification over the basal ganglia and dentate nuclei. A repeated imaging scan in the second patient revealed progressive cerebral atrophy but reduction in the calcification. No underlying cause for the bilateral calcification was found. As frontal lobe symptoms are usually inconspicuous in the early stage, the presence of these symptoms might be overlooked in clinical practice when compared with those suffering from prominent movement disorders.

Diagnostico diferencial da depressao: um caso de infarto dos ganglios basais / Diagnosis differential of depression: case of a bilateral infarcts of the basal ganglia diseases

Apatia e definida como falta de motivacao nao atribuivel a prejuizo intelectual, estresse emocional ou reducao dos niveis de consciencia. A presenca de apatia, tanto como sintoma quanto como sindrome, e geralmente associada a patologia do lobo frontal ou dos ganglios da base, e...