Related Experiment Videos
Late-onset psychosis with somatic delusions
E Rockwell1, A J Krull, J Dimsdale
1University of California, San Diego.
Psychosomatics
|January 1, 1994
Summary
Late-onset psychosis patients with somatic delusions may be more likely women, have longer illness duration, and exhibit lower IQs. These patients often show poor response to psychotropic treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Gerontology
Background:
- Late-onset psychosis (LOP) presents unique diagnostic and treatment challenges.
- Somatic delusions are a specific symptom cluster within LOP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize patients with LOP and somatic delusions.
- To compare these patients with LOP patients without somatic delusions and healthy controls.
- To explore potential clinical implications and treatment responses.
Main Methods:
- Study included 10 LOP patients with somatic delusions, 9 LOP patients without somatic delusions, and 10 normal controls.
- Data collected included demographics, clinical assessments, neuropsychological testing, and brain MRI.
- Diagnostic criteria (DSM-III-R) were considered.
Main Results:
- Patients with somatic delusions were more often female, had longer illness duration, and met criteria for delusional disorder more frequently than LOP patients without somatic delusions.
- LOP patients with somatic delusions scored lower on full-scale IQ tests compared to normal controls.
- Treatment with psychotropic medications showed limited benefit and poor compliance in patients with somatic delusions.
Conclusions:
- LOP with somatic delusions may represent a distinct subtype with specific demographic and cognitive profiles.
- The findings suggest potential challenges in treatment efficacy and adherence for this patient group.
- Further research is needed due to study limitations like small sample size and diagnostic heterogeneity.