Catatonic Schizophrenia and Addiction

The new regimen resulted in a significant improvement in her mood symptoms and resolution of catatonia. After recovery, the patient reported that she had no previous history of psychiatric and medical conditions and was not on any medications prior to her admission. She admitted to smoking marijuana daily to cope with the “stress” https://soberhome.net/ in her life for the past few years. Hence, in the absence of any other etiology, it was concluded that the patient’s catatonic presentation, depression, and psychosis were attributed to her cannabis use. Catatonia has similarities in its presentation to extrapyramidal side effects of medication due to D2 blockade.

Laboratory tests showed white blood cell count of 7.4 K/mm3 with 60% neutrophils, her hematocrit was 37.6%, and platelets were 203 K/mm3. Electrolytes and renal function showed sodium 135 mmol/L, potassium 3.5 mmol/L, chloride 101 mmol/L, bicarbonate 20 mmol/L, calcium 9.8 mg/dL, blood urea nitrogen 12 mg/dL, and creatinine 1.0 mg/dL. Physical exam showed an alert, well appearing elderly female in no acute distress. Her pupils were equal round and reactive to light; she would not comply with extraocular muscle testing. She did open her mouth on request and stuck out her tongue midline; there was no erythema, and mucous membranes were moist.

Among intubated patients, propofol may be useful in providing sedation and potentially treating the catatonia. Note that propofol’s mechanism of action is similar to benzodiazepines (with GABA-A receptor augmentation). This involves administration of 2 mg IV lorazepam (or ~1 mg IV lorazepam in patients at high risk of side effects, such as frail elderly patients, or patients at risk of respiratory depression). (Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a subtype of malignant catatonia which is induced by neuroleptics. While research suggests that catatonic schizophrenia happens due to a dysfunction in the brain, it is not known exactly why this dysfunction occurs.

There are several important limitations to our review. All the studies included were either case reports or case series, which by their nature are subject to overinterpretation, publication bias, and recall bias119. Additionally, this type of research does not allow for inference of epidemiological measures such as incidence or prevalence.

If used for a long time, there is a risk of dependency. This drug is used to treat catatonic schizophrenia less often than barbiturates. Ideally, an improvement in catatonic features should be seen following lorazepam administration.

How is catatonia treated, and is there a cure?

Withdrawal from some medications, such as clozapine , can cause catatonia. Most people who have catatonia are at least somewhat aware of the world around them. They simply can’t react to what’s happening around them as they would normally. It’s also common for people with catatonia to remember some of what happened to them even though they seemed unaware. Your healthcare provider will diagnose catatonia using a combination of methods. This usually starts with a neurological examination.

• The toxic serotonin syndrome , an acute febrile and autonomic response with prominent catatonia features with prominent gastrointestinal symptoms, is another MC variant.
• If receptor downregulation occurs and clozapine is then discontinued, a state of GABA hypoactivity resulting in a catatonic episode may occur.
• This is called catatonic excitement.
• 75, no. 6, pp. 644–651, 2014.

Your healthcare provider is the best person to explain how long catatonia will last and what to expect. Researchers have studied catatonia since German psychiatrist Karl Kahlbaum named and described it in 1874, but it remains highly underdiagnosed. Part of this is because, until recent decades, catatonia was mistakenly believed to only occur in people with schizophrenia. Further challenges to diagnosis include disagreement within psychiatry on how many criteria and which criteria are required to diagnose catatonia. In addition, some catatonic signs, such as agitation and mutism, overlap with other conditions.

Treating Catatonic Schizophrenia During Addiction Treatment

It and similar agents appear to act by inhibiting reuptake of noradrenaline at synapses in central descending pain-modulating pathways located in the brainstem and spinal cord. Clomipramine is a dibenzazepine compound belonging to the TCA family. It inhibits the membrane pump mechanism responsible for the uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin in adrenergic and serotonergic neurons. Clomipramine affects serotonin uptake and affects norepinephrine uptake when converted into its metabolite, desmethylclomipramine. These actions are believed to be responsible for clomipramine’s antidepressant activity. The use of certain nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytics has been shown to be helpful in some cases of catatonia.

However, for schizophrenic patients with catatonia, ECT remains an effective treatment. Due to ethical concerns, it is unlikely such severely ill patients will be included in large-scale randomized controlled trials. •After lysis, psychosis depending on etiology may continue, and sometimes patients will need cautious use of an atypical antipsychotic medication. Most often if circumstances warrant it, one can use a low-potency, atypical antipsychotic such as olanzapine or aripiprazole while continuing lorazepam to buffer against reemergence of catatonia and NMS. Doctors aren’t sure exactly what makes someone become catatonic.

If this is ineffective, it should be repeated again in 3 hours and then again in another 3 hours. In our experience, this is an adequate trial for the majority of patients, who have had catatonia of the retarded type for less than 3 weeks. Lower initial and subsequent dosages may be necessary for elderly patients, and chronic catatonia may respond over days or months, rather than hours. The issue of whether some BZPs might work better than others has not been carefully studied. Valproate may be especially useful in patients with underlying bipolar or schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, as it provides treatment for these conditions. Clozapine monotherapy has shown effectiveness in catatonic schizophrenia7 and might be an option after other antipsychotics have failed.

What Is Catatonia?

Lorazepam is generally considered a front-line agent for catatonia . Foley catheter placement may be needed in patients with urinary retention. DVT prophylaxis is important, especially among immobile patients. Delirium due to withdrawal usually causes low-voltage, fast activity.

It also can happen because of life-threatening conditions that need immediate medical care. Because of both those factors, you shouldn’t try to self-diagnose or treat it. Because malignant catatonia disrupts how your brain runs your body’s automatic processes, it has the potential to cause death. That means it’s a problem that needs eco sober house review immediate medical care. A 33-year-old Caucasian woman with a past psychiatric history of schizophrenia and depression was brought to the hospital by her husband for the inability to take care of herself. He reported that the patient was having bizarre disorganized behavior and a worsening of her baseline auditory hallucinations.

How we reviewed this article:

This is likely because clozapine’s primary action on the GABA system is not at the GABA receptor level where benzodiazepines exert their effect, but rather through clozapine’s effects on various receptors located on GABA interneurons. It is also likely that multiple receptor systems are involved in clozapine withdrawal catatonia and that just addressing GABA hypoactivity may not be sufficient in resolving the clinical syndrome. This report describes the case of a single elderly man with hearing impairment, who developed hallucination and delusions and presented with catatonia at the last minute before his fall. There were no remarkable brain organic abnormalities which possibly cause catatonic symptoms, suggesting that his psychotic and catatonic symptoms were not derived from either trauma or drugs used after admission. He had sensory deficit, which is common in late paraphrenia , and developed psychotic symptoms after 60 years of age without any evident history of psychiatric disorders.

As clozapine withdrawal catatonia has not been widely studied in the past, treatment suggestions are based on the accumulation of data from this literature review. Based on our findings, we would suggest the first-line treatment for clozapine withdrawal catatonia be early recognition and reinstitution of clozapine. Clinical guidelines recommend that when more than 2 days of clozapine treatment have been missed, clozapine should be re-started at a dose of 12.5−25 mg and increased slowly by 25−50 mg daily over 1−2 weeks until a therapeutic dose is reached117. The purpose of the slow taper is to minimize the occurrence of adverse effects including orthostatic hypotension and seizures. There is however emerging evidence that rapid titration of clozapine using a higher starting dose and increasing by up to 100 mg daily is safe and provides faster resolution of psychotic symptoms118.

This case report was written by HS. MH and MI revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. F. Mazurek, “Catatonia and its treatment,” Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 239–242, 2010. M. Zink, F. A. Henn, and J.

Prominent examples are MC with a high risk of death and the NMS that follows on the administration of neuroleptic drugs. •After lysis of the catatonia, can switch to sublingual or oral in divided doses. This usually maintains the effect, although an occasional eco sober house ma patient needs IV dose reinstituted. Someone with akinetic catatonia often stares blankly and won’t respond when you speak to them. If they do respond, it may only be to repeat what you said. Sometimes they sit or lie in an unusual position and won’t move.

Clozapine and other receptors

The use of central monoamine-depleting agents has been shown in case reports to be helpful in some cases of catatonia. Valproic acid may be helpful by increasing activity at GABA or modest antiglutaminergic effects. Preventing catatonia is not likely to be a realistic goal given that it has many potential causes.

However, some people with catatonia may exhibit excessive movement and agitated behavior. People who show signs of catatonia need medical attention as soon as possible. That’s because the symptoms of this condition are also possible with dangerous conditions that are emergencies and need immediate care. If a loved one shows signs of catatonia, you may need to take them to the hospital or even call 911 . People with severe catatonia can’t take care of themselves and need care from trained medical professionals.

Withdrawal from alcohol, benzodiazepines, dopaminergic medications , or atypical antipsychotics . Benzodiazepines include clonazepam , lorazepam , and diazepam . These medications increase GABA in the brain, which supports the theory that reduced GABA leads to catatonia. People with high rankings on the BFCRS usually respond well to benzodiazepine treatments. How long catatonia lasts depends partly on the conditions that it happens along with and the treatments received. Timely treatment is important because the longer that catatonia lasts, the less likely it’ll respond to treatment.