Alien hand syndrome: Pathophysiology, semiology and differential diagnosis with psychiatric disorders (Review).

Alien hand syndrome (AHS) is an uncommon neurological condition characterized by involuntary, yet seemingly purposeful, movements of a limb, typically an upper extremity, with variable awareness and control by the affected individual. It is associated with a range of peculiar sensations, such as the feeling of limb estrangement, alien control and involuntary mirroring or restraining of movements. AHS indicates a profound disruption in volitional motor control and personal agency. The aetiology of AHS is the dysfunction of critical brain regions secondary to diverse neurological insults, such as tumours, vascular disorders, infarction or neurodegenerative diseases. It is clinically categorized into the parietal and callosal types, depending on the affected region, with manifestations often linked to the specific brain region affected. The callosal type is particularly challenging to diagnose due to its rarity and potential for nonspecific or concealed symptoms amid concurrent brain injuries. Distinguishing AHS from psychiatric disorders is crucial for accurate diagnosis and improved patient outcomes. Further research is imperative for a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of AHS and the development of effective treatments. AHS predominantly affects adults and is frequently associated with multiple comorbidities. The syndrome is also exemplified by three distinct motor behaviours: Involuntary grasping, inter-manual conflict and limb levitation accompanied by the sensation of an alien limb or the perception of external control over one's movements. It has a generally good prognosis with partial or total recovery following appropriate rehabilitation techniques, including pharmacological and psychological measures.

Characteristics of very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis classified with the biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the association between very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP), a schizophrenia spectrum disorder with an onset of ≥60 years, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using biomarkers. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: Neuropsychology clinic of Osaka University Hospital in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-three participants were classified into three groups: eight AD biomarker-negative VLOSLP (VLOSLP-AD), nine AD biomarker-positive VLOSLP (VLOSLP+AD), and sixteen amnestic mild cognitive impairment due to AD without psychosis (aMCI-P+AD) participants. MEASUREMENTS: Phosphorylated tau levels in the cerebrospinal fluid and 18F-Florbetapir positron emission tomography results were used as AD biomarkers. Several scales (e.g. the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) Logical Memory (LM) I and II, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)-plus) were conducted to assess clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Those in both VLOSLP-AD and +AD groups scored higher than those in aMCI-P+AD in WMS-R LM I. On the other hand, VLOSLP+AD participants scored in between the other two groups in the WMS-R LM II, with only VLOSLP-AD participants scoring significantly higher than aMCI-P+AD participants. There were no significant differences in sex distribution and MMSE scores among the three groups or in the subtype of psychotic symptoms between VLOSLP-AD and +AD participants. Four VLOSLP-AD and five VLOSLP+AD participants harbored partition delusions. Delusion of theft was shown in two VLOSLP-AD patients and five VLOSLP+AD patients. CONCLUSION: Some VLOSLP patients had AD pathology. Clinical characteristics were different between AD biomarker-positive and AD biomarker-negative VLOSLP, which may be helpful for detecting AD pathology in VLOSLP patients.

Revisiting Paraphrenia: A Case Report.

Paraphrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder characterized by a strong delusional component with preservation of thought and personality. It was first introduced as a disorder associated with paranoid dementia and paranoia, but with less personality deterioration than schizophrenia and without fulfilling the clinical features of a delusional disorder. This classic diagnostic entity is not currently listed in main diagnostic systems, rendering delusional disorders difficult to classify in cases that resemble the concept of paraphrenia. We revisit the concept of paraphrenia through a critical review based on a clinical vignette of a patient followed at the psychiatry department of the University Hospital Center of São João.

Prevalence, clinical features, and risk factors of delusions in patients with delirium.

OBJECTIVES: Delirium may be divided into multiple subtypes with different pathological factors. This study aimed to focus on the delirium subtype in which delusions are conspicuous and explore its prevalence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors. METHODS: The subjects were 601 delirium cases referred to the department of psychiatry over 5 years at a general hospital. The Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 was used to assess the delusions in patients with delirium, and the features of delusions (delusional form, object, and content) were examined. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine whether individual factors were associated with the delusions. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients with delirium experienced delusions (13.0%). Most were classified as delusion of reference, such as persecution or poisoning, and 84.3% of patients believed that the persecutors were medical staff members. Older age (p < 0.001), female gender (p < 0.001), and living alone (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with delusions in patients with delirium. CONCLUSIONS: The content of delusions was rooted in the distress caused by the patients' medical situation, and the features and risk factors of the delusions suggested a formal similarity with late paraphrenia and "lack-of-contact paranoia." Psychological interventions that consider the isolation, anxiety, and fear behind delusions may be necessary in the care and treatment of these patients.

Wernicke-Kleist-Leonhard phenotypes of endogenous psychoses: a review of their validity
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While the ICD-DSM paradigm has been a major advance in clinical psychiatry, its usefulness for biological psychiatry is debated. By defining consensus-based disorders rather than empirically driven phenotypes, consensus classifications were not an implementation of the biomedical paradigm. In the field of endogenous psychoses, the Wernicke-Kleist-Leonhard (WKL) pathway has optimized the descriptions of 35 major phenotypes using common medical heuristics on lifelong diachronic observations. Regarding their construct validity, WKL phenotypes have good reliability and predictive and face validity. WKL phenotypes come with remarkable evidence for differential validity on age of onset, familiality, pregnancy complications, precipitating factors, and treatment response. Most impressive is the replicated separation of high- and low-familiality phenotypes. Created in the purest tradition of the biomedical paradigm, the WKL phenotypes deserve to be contrasted as credible alternatives with other approaches currently under discussion.
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Risk of dementia associated with psychotic disorders in later life: the health in men study (HIMS).

BACKGROUND: Recent research has identified several potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia, including mental disorders. Psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and delusional disorder, have also been associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, but currently available data difficult to generalise because of bias and confounding. We designed the present study to investigate if the presence of a psychotic disorder increased the risk of incident dementia in later life. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of a community-representative sample of 37 770 men aged 65-85 years who were free of dementia at study entry. They were followed for up to 17.7 years using electronic health records. Clinical diagnoses followed the International Classification of Diseases guidelines. As psychotic disorders increase mortality, we considered death a competing risk. RESULTS: A total of 8068 (21.4%) men developed dementia and 23 999 (63.5%) died during follow up. The sub-hazard ratio of dementia associated with a psychotic disorder was 2.67 (95% CI 2.30-3.09), after statistical adjustments for age and prevalent cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and renal diseases, cancer, as well as hearing loss, depressive and bipolar disorders, and alcohol use disorder. The association between psychotic disorder and dementia risk varied slightly according to the duration of the psychotic disorder (highest for those with the shortest illness duration), but not the age of onset. No information about the use of antipsychotics was available. CONCLUSION: Older men with a psychotic disorder have nearly three times greater risk of developing dementia than those without psychosis. The pathways linking psychotic disorders to dementia remain unclear but may involve mechanisms other than those associated with Alzheimer's disease and other common dementia syndromes.

Síntoma y creación en la obra de fernando pessoa / Symptom and creation in the works of Fernando Pessoa

El presente trabajo corresponde a una investigación en curso dedicada a explorar las relaciones entre el síntoma y la creación en la última enseñanza de Lacan. Una de nuestras hipótesis es que numerosos artistas y pensadores han brindado un valioso testimonio escrito al examinar su propia experiencia, dando cuenta de los fenómenos que padecían y el modo en que se entramaban con sus procesos creativos. Sostenemos que en ellos hay una gran enseñanza para el tema que nos ocupa, tal como ocurre con la obra del notable escritor Fernando Pessoa

The following paper is product of an ongoing research which aims to explore the relationship between the symptom and the creation in the last teachings of Jacques Lacan. One of the developed hypotheses is that thanks to the written testimony of many artists and thinkers based on the analysis of their own experience we can begin to understand what they were going through and the way this bleed into their creative processes. Here, within this extensive analysis, lies the root of the question, this is evidenced in the work of famed writer Fernando Pessoa

[A case of late-onset paraphrenia in a very elderly patient receiving home medical care].

A 94 year old woman with a late-onset paraphrenia was referred to our clinic from a community care center. The patient showed symptoms of paranoia and auditory hallucination. The patient was in conflict with her neighbors regarding noise-related problems and was experiencing loss of appetite. Because the patient had a strong aversion to outpatient treatment due to difficulty in commuting, home visits were commenced. Improvements were observed after administration of 2.5 mg per day of olanzapine.In home medical care, precise definitive diagnosis and determination of treatment approach is necessary under limited time and resources. The fact that elderly people often exhibit psychological symptoms such as hallucinations is well known among clinical professions. However, this is not well known among home care patients, families and other professionals, and, therefore, is often overlooked. As the population ages further, it can be predicted that cases of elderly patients requiring treatment for psychological symptoms will increase in home medical care situations. In Japan, with a super-aging society, understanding and continuously supporting late-onset paraphrenia among elderly people is a pressing issue for all communities in advancing home medical care and nursing.

An analysis of the evolution of delusion in a Chinese case of paraphrenia.

This article proposes a psychoanalytic approach to interpret the work of Song Shipeng, especially starting from an interrogation on the function of the nomination in the evolution of his delusion. Song was an author suffering from paraphrenia; he published some books writing about his conversations with extraterrestrials and their theory of the Universe. Furthermore, in the last years of his life, he practised a pseudo-medicine, as part of his practice of cosmic energy. His works are full of traces of his personal experience, which open the door to the understanding of the evolution of his delusion. The unifying factor of this examination will be the following hypothesis: Song attempted to compensate for his psychotic crisis, which he regarded as a way to install his "Pseudo-Ego Ideal," to invent all the delusion by the mnemic traces and to rebuild an identity. Within this perspective, writing could be viewed as enabling the patient to fight against psychotic anxiety, which could take the form of delusion of imagination, of naming oneself, of making a link between his psychotic enigmatic experience, his writing and his thought, and finally, of compensating his ego defect.

Onset of schizophrenia at 100 years of age.

Although generally regarded as a disease of young adults, schizophrenia does occur in older ages. Doubts have been raised about the validity of diagnosing schizophrenia in very old age. We have described herein a rare and unique case of a woman who had onset of "schizophrenia" as per ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR criteria at the age of 100 years. We have discussed about the validity of diagnosing schizophrenia in older age.

Historia de un caso con esquizofrenia parafrenizada o parafrenia fantástica y sistematizada / Evolution of a case of paraphrenized schizophrenia or fantastic and systematezed paraphrenia

This case treats about an unmarried 57 years old man, who I know since 1972 after a first germ episode ofhomosexual panic, auditive hallucinations and badly modulated affectivity. Diagnosis was Paranoid Schizophrenia and was treated with TEC, Tioridazina, and subsequently with comprehensive and directive psychotherapy. The patient accepted his homosexualism that he practices promiscuously with thieves and exploiters, one of which he threw down from his apartment causing his death, an incident for which he was declared inimputable. He developed a two-being feeling, the patient and a woman that he name "siameses". She procures him gays. He disguises as a woman and is surprised that no one seems interested in him. In 1976 he began a vivency based on the existence of a Principate of Bahía Naranjo, the biggest country on Earth. This Principate, founded in 1460, is a monarchy with an emperor and a chronicler (the patient), who writes about the daily life of the country. The patient has allotted the first author the task of keeping untouched his chronicles in the library of the Psychiatric Institute in Santiago in order that in 100 years the psychiatrists discover his illness thruth. The patient presents no alteration of thinking, do not use neologisms, though presents a double orientation. Based on these traits the treating psychiatrist has postulated a Personality Disorder and a Paraphrenized Schizophrenia or a Fantastic and Systematized Paraphrenia. He badly tolerates neuroleptics and presently takes300 mgs of Chlorpromazine; no Atypical Antipsychotics have been used so far because of economic reasons. Although he receives a pensioning from the Army, he misspends his money and does not accept taking other kinds of medicines.

Este caso trata sobre un hombre soltero de 57 años que conozco desde 1972 cuando presentó un episodio de pánico homosexual, alucinaciones auditivas y una afectividad mal modulada. Se le diagnóstico Esquizofrenia Paranoide y fue tratado con Terapia electroconvulsiva y Tioridazina. Posteriormente se continuó con una psicoterapia comprensiva y directiva. El paciente aceptó su homosexualismo que practicó promiscuamente con gay, drogadictos y explotadores a uno de los cuales lanzó al vacío desde su departamento falleciendo inmediatamente. Fue declarado inimputable. El desarrolló la presencia de dos personalidades una masculina y otra femenina. Se vestía de mujer y se sorprendía que a la gente no le llamara la atención. En 1976 empieza a afirmar y escribir que existe el Principado de Bahía Naranjo, el más grande del mundo, fundado en 1460 gobernado por una monarquía con un emperador y el paciente lleva un registro de la vida cotidiana del Pricipado. Este libro se lo va entregando al médico pues debe ser guardado en la biblioteca del Instituto Psiquiátrico para que en 100 años más los psiquiatras descubran su verdadera enfermedad. El enfermo no presenta alteraciones formales del paciente ni neologismos y tiene doble orientación. Basado en estas características se ha postulado un trastorno de Personalidad y una Esquizofrenia parafrenizada o una Parafrenia Sistematizada y Fantástica. Ha tolerado mal varios antipsicóticos y actualmente toma Clorpromazina 300 mgrs. Aunque recibe un montepío de las FF.AA. el paciente derrocha su dinero y no acepta antipsicóticos atípicos.

Psicosis Delirantes Crónicas / Chronic Delirious Psychosis

Los delirios crónicos constituyen una de las unidades de organización de la clínica psiquiátrica moderna tal cual ésta se conformó desde mediados del siglo XIX. En el presente artículo se expone el proceso de surgimiento y diferenciación de estos cuadros clínicos en relación a los diferentes marcos teóricos que permiten su justificación desde el siglo XIX hasta el surgimiento de las clasificaciones globalizantes (DSM y CJE) observando su inclusión o desaparición en las mismas. Posteriormente se presentan las características clínicas de presentación y evolución de sus cuadros más destacados.

Chronic delusions are one of the organization units of modern psychiatry since it took shape around the middle of the 19th century. This paper states the emergence and differentiation process of these clinical manifestations in relation to the different theoretical frameworks that explain them, from the 19th century to the rise of encompassing classifications (DSM and CIE) while pointing out their inclusion or disappearance. Then it exposes the clinical characteristics of the appearance and evolution of its main clinical manifestations.

Acerca del delirio hipocondríaco en las Parafrenias: una revisión historiográfica y clínica / Hypochondriacal delusions in paraphrenias: a historiographical and clinical review

Las ideas delirantes hipocondríacas constituyen un síntoma de eventual aparición en las psicosis crónicas. Algunos autores han planteado la existencia de un cuadro delirante crónico, la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca, en el que este tipo de ideación delirante constituye el síntoma cardinal. En el presente trabajo se evalúa la validez nosológica de la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca y su independencia de las demás formas de Parafrenias. Para esto, se realizó una revisión histórica de la posición de la sintomatología delirante hipocondríaca desde las definiciones originales de Laségue y Griesinger hasta la descripción de la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca por Karl Leonhard. Se presentan tres casos de pacientes con el diagnóstico de Parafrenia Hipocondríaca. Concluimos que la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca representa un constructo teórico válido y útil en la discriminación de los diferentes estados delirantes crónicos.

Hypochondriacal delusions may eventually appear in chronic psychosis. Some authors have proposed the existence of a chronic delusional disease named Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia in which these delusions constitute its main feature. In the present article we discuss the nosological validity of the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia and its independence from other subtypes of Paraphrenias. With this aim, an historical review of the position of the hypochondriacal symptomatology was performed form the original definitions of Lasegue and Griesinger to the description of the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia by Karl Leonhard. Then, three cases of patients with the diagnosis of Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia are presented. We conclude that the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia is a valid and useful nosological construct.

Psicosis Delirantes Crónicas / Chronic Delirious Psychosis

Los delirios crónicos constituyen una de las unidades de organización de la clínica psiquiátrica moderna tal cual ésta se conformó desde mediados del siglo XIX. En el presente artículo se expone el proceso de surgimiento y diferenciación de estos cuadros clínicos en relación a los diferentes marcos teóricos que permiten su justificación desde el siglo XIX hasta el surgimiento de las clasificaciones globalizantes (DSM y CJE) observando su inclusión o desaparición en las mismas. Posteriormente se presentan las características clínicas de presentación y evolución de sus cuadros más destacados.(AU)

Chronic delusions are one of the organization units of modern psychiatry since it took shape around the middle of the 19th century. This paper states the emergence and differentiation process of these clinical manifestations in relation to the different theoretical frameworks that explain them, from the 19th century to the rise of encompassing classifications (DSM and CIE) while pointing out their inclusion or disappearance. Then it exposes the clinical characteristics of the appearance and evolution of its main clinical manifestations.(AU)

Acerca del delirio hipocondríaco en las Parafrenias: una revisión historiográfica y clínica / Hypochondriacal delusions in paraphrenias: a historiographical and clinical review

Las ideas delirantes hipocondríacas constituyen un síntoma de eventual aparición en las psicosis crónicas. Algunos autores han planteado la existencia de un cuadro delirante crónico, la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca, en el que este tipo de ideación delirante constituye el síntoma cardinal. En el presente trabajo se evalúa la validez nosológica de la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca y su independencia de las demás formas de Parafrenias. Para esto, se realizó una revisión histórica de la posición de la sintomatología delirante hipocondríaca desde las definiciones originales de Laségue y Griesinger hasta la descripción de la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca por Karl Leonhard. Se presentan tres casos de pacientes con el diagnóstico de Parafrenia Hipocondríaca. Concluimos que la Parafrenia Hipocondríaca representa un constructo teórico válido y útil en la discriminación de los diferentes estados delirantes crónicos.(AU)

Hypochondriacal delusions may eventually appear in chronic psychosis. Some authors have proposed the existence of a chronic delusional disease named Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia in which these delusions constitute its main feature. In the present article we discuss the nosological validity of the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia and its independence from other subtypes of Paraphrenias. With this aim, an historical review of the position of the hypochondriacal symptomatology was performed form the original definitions of Lasegue and Griesinger to the description of the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia by Karl Leonhard. Then, three cases of patients with the diagnosis of Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia are presented. We conclude that the Hypochondriacal Paraphrenia is a valid and useful nosological construct.(AU)

Oskar Panizza: Psychiatrist, antipsychiatrist, patient The man behind Emil Kraepelin's case report on 'paraphrenias'.

A contemporary of Emil Kraepelin, Oskar Panizza was a psychiatric trainee under Bernhard von Gudden at the Oberbayerische Kreisirrenanstalt München. While participating in Gudden's famous degeneration studies, Panizza became psychotic. He quit his job and became a writer, trying to cope with psychotic episodes by publishing literary works. Most of his works were confiscated and Panizza himself was locked up and persecuted. His experience of his psychotic symptoms made him critical of the psychiatric orthodoxy of the time, and he preached a kind of psychological psychiatry that anticipated important features of the Antipsychiatry movement of the 1970s. After serving a year in prison for his writings, Panizza left Germany and went to Zürich, Switzerland. In 1898 he was deported from Switzerland and went to Paris, where his book of poems, Parisiana and his money were confiscated. In 1901 he had to return to the Oberbayerische Kreisirrenanstalt where a diagnosis of paranoia was made. Then he lived in Paris for the next three years, but his psychotic symptoms worsened and he fled back to the Oberbayerische Kreisirrenanstalt, where he was examined by Prof. Gudden, Dr. Ungemach and by his former colleague Emil Kraepelin, who had become head of department. The encounters with Oskar Panizza gave Emil Kraepelin some of the ideas on which he developed his concept of 'paraphrenias' and in Lectures on Clinical Psychiatry , Kraepelin illustrated the 'systematic paraphrenias', by the life of his former colleague Oskar Panizza who died in hospital in Bayreuth in 1921.