Wernekink commissure syndrome is a rare midbrain syndrome with bilateral cerebellar dysfunction,eye movement disorder,and palatal myoclonus.Few cases of this syndrome have been reported in China,let alone those combined with hallucinations and involuntary groping.This paper reports the diagnosis and treatment of a case of Wernekink commissure syndrome with hallucinations and involuntary groping,aiming to enrich the knowledge about this disease for clinicians.
Humans ; Mesencephalon ; Ocular Motility Disorders/diagnosis* ; Spinal Cord ; Syndrome ; Hallucinations

Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare and underdiagnosed neuropsychiatric illness. We present the case of a 17-year-old girl who was admitted to a tertiary-care psychiatric center with acute onset psychosis and fever. Her psychotic symptoms were characterized by persecutory and referential delusions, as well as tactile and visual hallucinations. Her acute behavioral disturbance warranted admission and treatment in a psychiatric setting (risperidone tablets, 3 mg/day). She had experienced an episode of fever with a unilateral visual acuity defect approximately 3 years before admission, which was resolved with treatment. Focused clinical examination revealed an enlarged thyroid, and baseline blood investigations, including thyroid function test results were normal. Abnormal laboratory investigations revealed elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) levels (anti-TPO of 480 IU/mL; anti-TG of 287 IU/mL). Results of other investigations for infection, including cerebrospinal fluid examination, electroencephalography, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were normal. She was diagnosed with HE and was treated with intravenous corticosteroids (methylprednisolone up to 1 g/day; tapered and discontinued after a month). The patient achieved complete remission of psychotic symptoms and normalization of the anti-thyroid antibody titers. Currently, at the seventh month of follow-up, the patient is doing well. This case highlights the fact that in the absence of well-defined clinical diagnostic criteria, a high index of suspicion is required for early diagnosis of HE. Psychiatrists need to explore for organic etiologies when dealing with acute psychiatric symptoms in a younger age group.
Adolescent ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Brain ; Brain Diseases ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Delusions ; Early Diagnosis ; Electroencephalography ; Female ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Methylprednisolone ; Peroxidase ; Psychiatry ; Psychotic Disorders ; Risperidone ; Tablets ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland ; Visual Acuity

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an adult-onset, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Patients with MSA show various phenotypes during the course of their illness, including parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, autonomic failure, and pyramidal signs. Patients with MSA sometimes present with isolated autonomic failure or motor symptoms/signs. The median duration from onset to the concomitant appearance of motor and autonomic symptoms is approximately 2 years but can range up to 14 years. As the presence of both motor and autonomic symptoms is essential for the current diagnostic criteria, early diagnosis is difficult when patients present with isolated autonomic failure or motor symptoms/signs. In contrast, patients with MSA may show severe autonomic failure and die before the presentation of motor symptoms/signs, which are currently required for the diagnosis of MSA. Recent studies have also revealed that patients with MSA may show nonsupporting features of MSA such as dementia, hallucinations, and vertical gaze palsy. To establish early diagnostic criteria and clinically definitive categorization for the successful development of disease-modifying therapy or symptomatic interventions for MSA, research should focus on the isolated phase and atypical symptoms to develop specific clinical, imaging, and fluid biomarkers that satisfy the requirements for objectivity, for semi- or quantitative measurements, and for uncomplicated, worldwide availability. Several novel techniques, such as automated compartmentalization of the brain into multiple parcels for the quantification of gray and white matter volumes on an individual basis and the visualization of α-synuclein and other candidate serum and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, may be promising for the early and clinically definitive diagnosis of MSA.
Biomarkers ; Brain ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Paralysis ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Phenotype ; White Matter

OBJECTIVES: Severe mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients who died by suicide among subjects who had been received service from a community mental health center. METHODS: We searched individuals who had committed suicide in Gwangju Bukgu Community Mental Health Center since 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered from medical records and their case managers and they were compared with those of general members in the center. Characteristics of schizophrenia patients who died by suicide were particularly summarized. RESULTS: Twelve person committed suicide between 2006 and 2016. The characteristics of those who died by suicide were male (67%), diagnosis of schizophrenia (75%), aged below 50 (83%), unemployed (92%), past history of psychiatric hospitalization (100%), recent admission within 3 months (67%), past history of suicidal attempt (78%), family history of schizophrenia (58%), poor adherence to medication (58%), and use of daily rehabilitation program (42%). Ten out of twelve (83%) showed warning sign for suicide. All identified method of suicide in patients with schizophrenia was jumping from high building. Many patients with schizophrenia, who committed suicide, suffered from comorbid depressive symptoms (67%) and auditory hallucination (78%). CONCLUSION: Case managers should pay attention to and carefully manage individuals who showed suicidal warning, particularly with risk factors for suicide, such as unemployment, admission state or recent discharge from psychiatric hospital, poor adherence to medication, family history of schizophrenia, and a history of suicidal attempt.
Case Management ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Gwangju ; Hallucinations ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mental Health* ; Methods ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Schizophrenia ; Suicide* ; Unemployment

OBJECTIVES: Severe mental illness is a major risk factor for suicide. This study aimed to identify characteristics of patients who died by suicide among subjects who had been received service from a community mental health center. METHODS: We searched individuals who had committed suicide in Gwangju Bukgu Community Mental Health Center since 2006. Sociodemographic and clinical data were gathered from medical records and their case managers and they were compared with those of general members in the center. Characteristics of schizophrenia patients who died by suicide were particularly summarized. RESULTS: Twelve person committed suicide between 2006 and 2016. The characteristics of those who died by suicide were male (67%), diagnosis of schizophrenia (75%), aged below 50 (83%), unemployed (92%), past history of psychiatric hospitalization (100%), recent admission within 3 months (67%), past history of suicidal attempt (78%), family history of schizophrenia (58%), poor adherence to medication (58%), and use of daily rehabilitation program (42%). Ten out of twelve (83%) showed warning sign for suicide. All identified method of suicide in patients with schizophrenia was jumping from high building. Many patients with schizophrenia, who committed suicide, suffered from comorbid depressive symptoms (67%) and auditory hallucination (78%). CONCLUSION: Case managers should pay attention to and carefully manage individuals who showed suicidal warning, particularly with risk factors for suicide, such as unemployment, admission state or recent discharge from psychiatric hospital, poor adherence to medication, family history of schizophrenia, and a history of suicidal attempt.
Case Management ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Gwangju ; Hallucinations ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mental Health* ; Methods ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Schizophrenia ; Suicide* ; Unemployment

OBJECTIVE: Electrophysiological studies, which are mostly focused on afferent pathway, have proven that auditory processing deficits exist in patients with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, reports on the suppressive effect of efferent auditory pathway on cochlear outer hair cells among schizophrenia patients are limited. The present, case-control, study examined the contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Participants were twenty-three healthy controls and sixteen schizophrenia patients with normal hearing, middle ear and cochlear outer hair cells function. Absolute non-linear and linear TEOAEs were measured in both ears by delivering clicks stimuli at 80 dB SPL and 60 dB SPL respectively. Subsequently, contralateral suppression was determined by subtracting the absolute TEOAEs response obtained at 60 dBpe SPL during the absence and presence of contralateral white noise delivered at 65 dB HL. No attention tasks were conducted during measurements. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in absolute TEOAEs responses at 80 dB SPL, in either diagnosis or ear groups (p>0.05). However, the overall contralateral suppression was significantly larger in schizophrenia patients (p<0.05). Specifically, patients with schizophrenia demonstrated significantly increased right ear contralateral suppression compared to healthy control (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest increased inhibitory effect of efferent auditory pathway especially on the right cochlear outer hair cells. Further studies to investigate increased suppressive effects are crucial to expand the current understanding of auditory hallucination mechanisms in schizophrenia patients.
Afferent Pathways ; Auditory Pathways ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis ; Ear ; Ear, Middle ; Efferent Pathways ; Hair ; Hallucinations ; Hearing ; Humans ; Noise ; Schizophrenia*

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common causes of dementia. It can exhibit a variety of clinical symptoms including cognitive decline, cognitive fluctuation, visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, REM sleep behavior disorder, hypersensitivity to neuroleptics and autonomic dysfunctions. Despite more well-known criteria for DLB, there are often misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. It gives a lot of clinical burden to the clinician as well as to patients and families. When reducing the misdiagnosis, the burden of all will be reduced. The special concern and solicitation are needed in order not to miss the diagnosis when the cardinal features of DLB may not be volunteered by patients and the caregivers. To control the symptoms, clinicians must find and reduce drugs that can have the negative effects on DLB symptoms. There is limited evidence about specific interventions but available data suggest cholinesterase inhibitors improve the cognitive and behavioral symptoms and menmantine slightly improves the global impression.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Behavioral Symptoms ; Caregivers ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Dementia* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Lewy Bodies* ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Eighty-three of 114 original articles and abstracts of research published by neuropsychiatrists of Chosun Chongdokbu Hospital (the Japanese colonial government hospital in Korea) and Keijo (Seoul) Imperial University Hospital during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) in journals including Shinkeigaku-zassi (Neurologia), Seishin-shinkei-gaku zassi (Psychiatria Et Neurologia Japonica), and The Journal of Chosun (Korea) Medical Association were reviewed. Most articles were on clinical research based on descriptive and biological psychiatry while only 4 articles were on dynamic psychiatry, probably because Japanese pioneers in psychiatry had introduced German psychiatry into Japan during the 1880s. The first paper was written by Dr. Shim Ho-sub. Professor Kubo of Keijo (Seoul) Imperial University published most articles, followed by Dr. Hikari, Dr. Hattori, and Dr. Sugihara. There were more articles on symptomatic psychosis and morphine addiction, followed by general paralysis, schizophrenia, neurological diseases, narcolepsy, epilepsy, and neurasthenia. The meaningful articles even for today were comparative studies between Japanese and Koreans and articles on opioid use disorder in Korea. Authors reported a markedly lower rate of psychotic inpatients in the population of Koreans compared with Japanese. Japanese researchers argued that, because of simpleness in social life in Korea and less violence or excitement in symptoms, Korean mental patients could be cared for by family or members of the community, or be treated by shamanism rather than bringing them to a public mental hospital, and poverty also prohibited hospital care. Finding of higher ratio of schizophrenia to manic-depressive psychosis among Koreans than Japanese was discussed in relation to delayed cultural development of Korea compared to Japan. In addition, traditional customs prohibiting marriage between relatives in Korea was related to low prevalence of manic-depressive psychosis, local endemic malaria was related to low prevalence of general paresis, and poor general hygiene was related to high prevalence of epilepsy. Unclear (undifferentiated) form of psychotic symptoms including hallucination and delusion was reported in more Koreans than Japanese. Also Korean patients showed a more atypical form in diagnosis. Authors added that they had found no culture-specific mental illness in Korea. However, no Korean psychiatrists were included as author in such comparative studies. Comparative studies on constitution between Koreans and Japanese mental patients and prisoners were also unique. However, no Korean psychiatrists participated in such comparative studies. In studies on morphine addiction in Koreans, Japanese researchers argued that such studies were necessary to prevent introduction of morphine-related criminal phenomena to Japan. Meanwhile, Dr. Kubo had left a notion on adaptation problems of Japanese living in the foreign country, Korea. Nevertheless he reported nothing about psychosocial aspects of mental illness in relation to political, cultural, and economic difficulties Koreans were experiencing under the colonial rule of Japan. These general trends of studies based on German biological and descriptive psychiatry and policies of colonial government to isolate "dangerous" mental patients in hospital appeared to reflect colonial or ethnopsychiatry of those days. These policy and research trends seem to have worsened stigma attached to mental disorders. Japanese tradition of psychiatric research was discontinued by return home of Japanese scholars with the end of WWII and colonial rule.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Biological Psychiatry ; Bipolar Disorder ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Criminals ; Delusions ; Diagnosis ; Epilepsy ; Ethnopsychology ; Hallucinations ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Inpatients ; Japan ; Korea ; Malaria ; Marriage ; Mental Disorders ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Morphine Dependence ; Narcolepsy ; Neurasthenia ; Neuropsychiatry ; Neurosyphilis ; Poverty ; Prevalence ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Psychiatry* ; Psychotic Disorders ; Schizophrenia ; Shamanism ; Violence

OBJECTIVES: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD) represent significant clinical problems, resulting in functional decline, caregiver distress, institutionalization and increased mortality. A recent study showed gender differences have important role in the development of BPSD, but relationship between BPSD and gender has never been studied in Korea. This study was designed to examine whether patients with Alzheimer's disease show gender differences in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD). METHODS: Ninety-eight subjects with Alzheimer's disease were included in this study. We carried out history taking and cognitive assessment for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on DSM-IV. Cognitive impairment and BPSD were measured using the Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR) and the Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory(K-NPI). Independent samples t-test was used to examine the differences across gender in BPSD. Correlation analysis between MMSE, CDR, GDS and NPI was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: There were no significant gender differences between the gender in BPSD. We found statistically significant negative correlations between MMSE with NPI total score, and with scores of several sub-domains such as hallucination. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that gender differences in BPSD are not significant. Further research is necessary to identify whether BPSD affect gender differences or individual differences.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Caregivers ; Dementia* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Individuality ; Institutionalization ; Korea ; Mortality

Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive botanical plant that is increasingly used for the 'legal' highs that it can produce. It is readily available for purchase on the Internet, and most abusers are unaware of the toxicity and abuse potential associated with its use. As the use of novel compounds among abusers is not uncommon, physicians need to increase their awareness and recognition of these new substances. Herein, we report a case of an acute presentation of Salvia intoxication.
Adult ; Fear ; Hallucinations ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Plants, Medicinal ; adverse effects ; toxicity ; Salvia ; adverse effects ; toxicity ; Substance-Related Disorders ; diagnosis