Lithium in a Case of Severe Anorexia Nervosa

1982 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 526-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Stein ◽  
S. Hartshorn ◽  
J. Jones ◽  
D. Steinberg

Anorexia nervosa may sometimes be resistant to all forms of therapy, with cases running through a gamut of somatic and psychological treatments. One possible explanation for this may be that the illness is of heterogeneous aetiology (Kay and Leigh, 1938; King, 1963; Feighner et al, 1972), although others regard anorexia as a single condition that tends to breed true though having protean manifestations (Russell, 1970; Crisp et al, 1980). In most of the larger series of cases, a proportion have depressive symptoms both during the illness (Dally, 1969; Theander, 1970; Crisp et al, 1980) and some years later (Morgan and Russell, 1975; Hsu et al, 1979), and a family history of affective disorder is also commonly reported (Dally, 1969; Theander, 1970; Morgan and Russell, 1975). Cantwell et al (1977) have reviewed the complex relationship between depression and anorexia nervosa and have suggested that some of the remedies used in the treatment of depression merit further exploration in the management of anorexia nervosa. We report here a patient who was in hospital for over four years and in whose eventual improvement lithium may have played an important role.

1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
G D Pearlson ◽  
C A Ross ◽  
W D Lohr ◽  
BW Rovner ◽  
G A Chase ◽  
...  

1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Richards ◽  
DK Kinney ◽  
H Daniels ◽  
K Linkins

SummaryPreliminary new data support the enhancement of ‘everyday’ creativity among those persons with bipolar disorders who manifest milder rather than more severe mood elevations, and among certain individuals who are likely to carry bipolar liability but themselves show no clinical mood elevations – in this case, unipolar depressives with a family history of bipolar disorder, when compared with depressives lacking this history. Creativity was assessed using the lifetime creativity scales (Richards el al, 1988). Underlying mechanisms may be multifactorial and complex. Results suggest that both personal and family history should be considered when making predictions concerning creativity and affective disorders.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Horndasch ◽  
Sophie O'Keefe ◽  
Anneka Lamond ◽  
Katie Brown ◽  
Ciara McCabe

BackgroundWe have previously shown increased anticipatory and consummatory neural responses to rewarding and aversive food stimuli in women recovered from anorexia nervosa (AN).AimsTo determine whether these differences are trait markers for AN, we examined the neural response in those with a familial history but no personal history of AN.MethodThirty-six volunteers were recruited: 15 who had a sister with anorexia nervosa (family history) and 21 control participants. Using fMRI we examined the neural response during an anticipatory phase (food cues, rewarding and aversive), an effort phase and a consummatory phase (rewarding and aversive tastes).ResultsFamily history (FH) volunteers showed increased activity in the caudate during the anticipation of both reward and aversive food and in the thalamus and amygdala during anticipation of aversive only. FH had decreased activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the pallidum and the superior frontal gyrus during taste consumption.ConclusionsIncreased neural anticipatory but decreased consummatory responses to food might be a biomarker for AN. Interventions that could normalise these differences may help to prevent disorder onset.


1988 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Powell ◽  
W. R. Silveira ◽  
R. Lindsay

A case of childhood affective disorder with episodes of depressive stupor in a 13-year-old pre-pubertal boy is described. Changes in the patient's clinical state were accompanied by changes in the dexamethasone suppression test. A family history of affective illness on the maternal side, with phenomenological similarities, is noted.


1988 ◽  
Vol 153 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Waddington ◽  
Hanafy A. Youssef

The demography, psychiatric morbidity, and motor consequences of long-term neuroleptic treatment in the 14 children born to a father with a family history of chronic psychiatric illness and a mother with a late-onset affective disorder resulting in suicide are documented. Twelve siblings lived to adulthood, nine of whom were admitted to a psychiatric hospital in their second or third decade, and required continuous in-patient care; five remaining in hospital, with long-term exposure to neuroleptics, had chroniC., deteriorating, schizophrenic illness and emergence of movement disorder. Two siblings showed no evidence of psychosis but developed a late-onset affective disorder. The implications for the issues of homotypia, vulnerability to involuntary movements, and interaction with affective disorder are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Becker Nissen ◽  
David Højgaard ◽  
Per Hove Thomsen

Abstract Background Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a distressing psychiatric disorder. Traumas may trigger or aggravate OCD symptoms. COVID-19 pandemic has coursed a global crisis and has been associated with onset of psychiatric disorders in adults. Little is known about children/adolescents with OCD. The present study aimed to examine how children/adolescents with OCD react towards COVID-19 crisis. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to two separate groups of children/adolescents. One group was a clinical group newly diagnosed at a specialized OCD clinic. All the children/adolescents had a current close contact to a therapist or doctor. The other group was a survey group identified through the Danish OCD Association. Most of these children/adolescents were diagnosed years ago, and their primary treatment was completed. For the clinical group, data from patient files was available. Results In both groups, but most pronounced in the survey group, participants experienced a worsening of their OCD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The aggravation of OCD correlated with the worsening of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and the extent of avoidance behavior. For both groups, OCD aggressive symptoms predicted a significant worsening. Poor baseline insight showed a trend to predict a symptom worsening. The worsening was most pronounced in children with early age of onset and a family history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies examining the effect of COVID-19 in children/adolescents with OCD. The effect was examined in two separate populations strengthening the findings. The study points towards an influence of the OCD phenotype, baseline insight suggesting a continued vulnerability, and a family history of psychiatric disorders. Trial registration The study is approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (1-16-02-147-20) registered 1 st of April 2020. Oral and written information was given to parents and patients and written consent from patients over 15 years and parents were received.


1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally-Ann Cooper ◽  
Richard A. Collacott

Until recently, it was considered that Down's syndrome precluded a diagnosis of mania, or gave rise to an atypical presentation. There have been seven case reports of mania in people with Down's syndrome and all these cases are reviewed. The clinical features of mania are noted to be similar to those previously described in individuals with learning disabilities due to other causes. However, all reported cases are male and none has a family history of affective disorder. In two of the seven men reported, the illness followed a rapid cycling pattern. Hypothyroidism and monoamine biochemistry in people with Down's syndrome are discussed in the context of these atypical features.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1505-1514 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Soni ◽  
J. Whittington ◽  
A. J. Holland ◽  
T. Webb ◽  
E. N. Maina ◽  
...  

BackgroundPsychotic illness is strongly associated with the maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) genetic subtype of Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), but not the deletion subtype (delPWS). This study investigates the clinical features of psychiatric illness associated with PWS. We consider possible genetic and other mechanisms that may be responsible for the development of psychotic illness, predominantly in those with mUPD.MethodThe study sample comprised 119 individuals with genetically confirmed PWS, of whom 46 had a history of psychiatric illness. A detailed clinical and family psychiatric history was obtained from these 46 using the PAS-ADD, OPCRIT, Family History and Life Events Questionnaires.ResultsIndividuals with mUPD had a higher rate of psychiatric illness than those with delPWS (22/34 v. 24/85, p<0.001). The profile of psychiatric illness in both genetic subtypes resembled an atypical affective disorder with or without psychotic symptoms. Those with delPWS were more likely to have developed a non-psychotic depressive illness (p=0.005) and those with mUPD a bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms (p=0.00005). Individuals with delPWS and psychotic illness had an increased family history of affective disorder. This was confined exclusively to their mothers.ConclusionsPsychiatric illness in PWS is predominately affective with atypical features. The prevalence and possibly the severity of illness are greater in those with mUPD. We present a ‘two-hit’ hypothesis, involving imprinted genes on chromosome 15, for the development of affective psychosis in people with PWS, regardless of genetic subtype.


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