[Periodic psychosis in adolescence]

In view of the fact that in the early part of this century Emil Kraepelin clearly described the relationship between psychotic episodes and the menstrual cycle it is surprising that the scientific elucidation of the phenomenon as a primary endocrine disorder came only decades later. Furthermore, the German literature has paid little attention to the problem, which was given the name "periodic psychosis of puberty" in 1963. In this article an overview of the literature is given, the symptoms and course of the disorder are described and two cases are reported. The course appears to be variable. There can be spontaneous remission after a variable length of time but also a transition into other forms of psychosis. The treatment is pharmacological.