Psychiatric assessment of Cleopatra--a challenging evaluation.

There was conducted a retrospective study of a remarkable personality in history of two millennia ago: Cleopatra, the Great. Though there was a paucity of hard facts about her early years, yet considerable pertinent information could be gleaned from scholarly writings about this versatile queen to render a diagnosis. Cleopatra was a complex, dynamic woman who rose to power in the Mediterranean world, but eliminated herself dramatically when she could not bear defeat in her narcissistic personality.

A case of catatonia induced by bacterial meningoencephalitis.

A 51-year-old man with renal cell carcinoma developed lethargy, disorientation, and fever; shortly thereafter, he had several episodes of sudden-onset catatonia. He was found to have bacterial meningoencephalitis and frontal lobe EEG abnormalities. Treatment with antibiotic and phenytoin was started, and the catatonic episodes subsided. The authors emphasize the need for a diligent investigation of all possible causes of sudden-onset catatonic syndrome and recommend that bacterial meningoencephalitis be added to the list of differential diagnoses of acute catatonia.