ECT in an Adolescent With Schizophrenia and Seizures: Case Report.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been recognized as an effective treatment option in catatonia, and for prolonged or severe affective episodes and schizophrenia. Response rates vary from 40 to 80% in adolescents. The procedure is safe if the required precautions are undertaken. Nonetheless, ECT remains a serious clinical challenge in patients with comorbid seizures. We present a case study of a 17-year-old female student suffering from schizophrenia who was scheduled for ECT due to prior treatment inefficacy. Seizures had occurred a few days before the first ECT session. Nevertheless, the patient received the ECT course, combined with clozapine at 125 mg/day, after neurological diagnosis and treatment modification because the illness became life-threatening. The patient's clinical outcome was satisfactory without any seriously adverse events and further improvements were observed in the mental state following long-term psychosocial treatment at our inpatient unit. A few months later, epilepsy was however diagnosed with probably coexistence of partial seizures and seizure-like events without EEG correlate. Administering ECT in patients with seizure comorbidity was also investigated based on previous research. Data on this is, however, extremely scarce and to the best of our knowledge, the safety and efficacy of using ECT in adolescents with schizophrenia and seizures has yet not to any great extent been discussed in the literature.

Ectodermal disturbance in development shared by anorexia and schizophrenia may reflect neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

Minor physical abnormalities (MPA) are subtle dysmorphic features of bodily structures that have little or no impact on function. Most MPA develop during the first gestational trimester and are considered as important indicators of neuroectodermal deficiencies emerging during early brain development. A higher frequency of MPA was confirmed in schizophrenia patients and their relatives, when compared to controls. These findings are consistent with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. A neurodevelopmental component amongst other risk factors has also been recently proposed for anorexia nervosa (AN). The current study aimed to assess MPA frequency in adolescent inpatients with either schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) or AN as compared to healthy controls (HC). The Waldrop Scale was used for assessing MPA. The mean MPA total score and mean head subscore was significantly higher in both test groups than in HC. There were no statistically significant differences between SSD and AN groups. The MPA profile (not frequency) was similar in all three groups. This finding is consistent both with widely acknowledged neurodevelopmental schizophrenia hypothesis as well as with more recent neurodevelopmental model of AN. Nevertheless, the findings should not be overgeneralized and further studies are warranted.

What exactly is catatonia in children and adolescents. / Czym jest katatonia u dzieci i mlodziezy.

The current study is a review of the literature on catatonia syndrome with focus on children and adolescent's specificity. Previous catatonia conceptualizations were significantly modified in the newest classification systems. Catatonia may be considered either a separate syndrome or a specifier of the course of other psychiatric disorders. Although diagnostic criteria for children and adolescent do not differ from those for adults, the clinical presentation and course may not be the same. In this age group relatively common are somatic conditions taking the form of catatonia. There is agrowing body of literature focused on catatonia in the course of pervasive developmental disorder. On the other hand, pervasive refusal syndrome and lethal catatonia are discussed in the literature, but they are not present in the classification systems. In the current paper basic treatment guidelines were also described. First-line treatment is the use of benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy. The diagnosis and treatmentof catatonia is of great practical importance. While improper diagnosis and non-optimal treatment may have fatal consequences, in the case of proper diagnosis an effective treatment may be administered.

Autistic traits in male and female students and individuals with high functioning autism spectrum disorders measured by the Polish version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient.

So far no standardized screening instrument for autism spectrum disorders for adults has been developed in Poland. The main aim of the study was to explore the properties of the Polish version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), especially its reliability and discriminating power. The second purpose was to establish whether the pattern of sex and area of study differences in the amount of autistic traits found in other countries also exist in Poland. The groups in the study included students (n = 2819), adults with ASD (n = 60) and a non-clinical sample (n = 60) matched with the ASD group for age, sex, education and place of residence. The Polish version of AQ proved to be reliable, although--as in studies conducted in other countries--the internal consistency coefficients for subscales (with exception for social skill) were low. ASD diagnosis was the most powerful determinant of AQ scores. Sex differences in autistic traits and a relationship between autistic traits and area of study were found.