ABSTRACT
Dementias, renamed neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) in the DSM-5, are defined by acquired decline in cognitive and functional abilities. DSM-5 now also includes mild NCD, which incorporates the previous diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. DSM-5 recognizes the following etiologies for NCDs: NCD due to Alzheimer's disease, vascular NCD, NCD with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal NCD, substance-/medication-induced NCD, NCD due to traumatic brain injury, NCD due to Huntington's disease, NCD due to HIV infection, NCD due to prion disease, and NCD due to other medical conditions. In this review, the authors discuss a wide variety of interventions that have been studied for the treatment and management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of patients with NCDs. In addition to nonpharmacological interventions, several classes of medications-including antipsychotics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and cholinesterase inhibitors-have been studied for this indication.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Neurosyphilis can present with a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Hence, psychiatrists need to be familiar with tests for syphilis screening and how to interpret syphilis serologic tests. METHODS: We present four cases of patients with positive syphilis tests encountered in a psychiatric hospital. RESULTS: Two cases were treated for neurosyphilis, while the other two cases did not have active syphilis infection despite positive results. CONCLUSION: We thus highlight the challenges encountered by psychiatrists in screening for and diagnosing cases of neurosyphilis.
Subject(s)
Neurosyphilis/diagnosis , Adult , Aged, 80 and over , Algorithms , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Syphilis/diagnosis , Syphilis SerodiagnosisABSTRACT
The authors present the case of a 37-year-old man who developed a psychotic manic episode and was found to have bilateral basal ganglia calcification (BGC). The authors present this case report along with a discussion of the literature on the neuropsychiatry of BGC.
Subject(s)
Basal Ganglia/pathology , Bipolar Disorder/pathology , Calcinosis/pathology , Delusions/pathology , Adult , Basal Ganglia/diagnostic imaging , Bipolar Disorder/complications , Calcinosis/complications , Calcinosis/diagnostic imaging , Delusions/complications , Humans , Male , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedSubject(s)
Confusion/psychology , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Adult , Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use , Benzodiazepines/therapeutic use , Confusion/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Olanzapine , Psychotic Disorders/diagnosis , Psychotic Disorders/drug therapy , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Seizures are a common comorbidity of autism and occur in as many as 30% of patients. This case report describes a 23-year-old man diagnosed with both Asperger syndrome and bitemporal epilepsy. The patient had behavioral regression that correlated with worsening of his intractable seizures. He subsequently underwent implantation of a vagus nerve stimulation therapy device for his refractory epilepsy. Both his seizures and his behavior were monitored for 6 months. We describe the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation therapy in reducing seizure severity as well as improving the behavioral components of his Asperger syndrome. We also review the current literature regarding epilepsy in autistic spectrum disorders.
