Delusional parasitosis and the dopamine transporter. A new insight of etiology?

Huber, Markus; Kirchler, Erwin; Kärner, Martin; Pycha, Roger

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.07.061

Cited by 94 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…In recent years, our group has published guidelines for the clinical management of patients with DI (95,175), a systematic review on the effects of antipsychotics in primary DI (178), a case-based meta-analysis on the effects of atypical antipsychotics in primary and secondary DI (99), and papers on the pathogenesis of DI (141,142). Although DI has been known for much longer than 100 years, DI research on the brain pathophysiology of the different forms of DI and clinical trials are inconclusive.…”

Section: Inset 9 Earlier Descriptions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Delusional Infestation

Freudenmann

Lepping²

2009

Clin Microbiol Rev

234

367

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SUMMARY This papers aims at familiarizing psychiatric and nonpsychiatric readers with delusional infestation (DI), also known as delusional parasitosis. It is characterized by the fixed belief of being infested with pathogens against all medical evidence. DI is no single disorder but can occur as a delusional disorder of the somatic type (primary DI) or secondary to numerous other conditions. A set of minimal diagnostic criteria and a classification are provided. Patients with DI pose a truly interdisciplinary problem to the medical system. They avoid psychiatrists and consult dermatologists, microbiologists, or general practitioners but often lose faith in professional medicine. Epidemiology and history suggest that the imaginary pathogens change constantly, while the delusional theme “infestation” is stable and ubiquitous. Patients with self-diagnosed “Morgellons disease” can be seen as a variation of this delusional theme. For clinicians, clinical pathways for efficient diagnostics and etiology-specific treatment are provided. Specialized outpatient clinics in dermatology with a liaison psychiatrist are theoretically best placed to provide care. The most intricate problem is to engage patients in psychiatric therapy. In primary DI, antipsychotics are the treatment of choice, according to limited but sufficient evidence. Pimozide is no longer the treatment of choice for reasons of drug safety. Future research should focus on pathophysiology and the neural basis of DI, as well as on conclusive clinical trials, which are widely lacking. Innovative approaches will be needed, since otherwise patients are unlikely to adhere to any study protocol.

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Section: Inset 9 Earlier Descriptions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Delusional Infestation

Freudenmann

Lepping²

2009

Clin Microbiol Rev

234

367

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“…Pimozide was used to treat our patient because. Several case reports have indicated the beneficial effects of atypical antipsychotics in primary DP, such as risperidone, quetiapine, olanzapine and amisulpride [6][7][8][9][10].The pathogenesis of DP is currently unknown however elevation of extracellular dopamine within the striatum; social isolation; or stress have be shown to play a role [7]. Social isolation, and hyperthyroidism may have played a role in our patient.…”

Section: Case Presentationmentioning

confidence: 83%

Delusional Parasitosis with Associated Thyroid Abnormality

2016

IJSR

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Delusion of parasitosis is a rare, monosymptomatic psychosis involving a delusion of being infested with parasites seen commonly in females. It is classified as a 'delusional disorder' according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and as a 'delusional disorder -somatic type' according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition. We present this rare case of delusional parasitosis in an elderly female with her symptoms paralleling her thyroid profile. Case presentation: Our patient was a 68-year-old, South Indian woman with primary school education who had been living alone for the past twenty years. She presented to our out patient department complaining of multiple worms on her body. However, on examination, no worms or skin disease was evident. She was also diagnosed with hyperthyroidism; with exacerbation of delusions with increased thyroid hormones ad vice versa. She was treated with antithyroid medication and with pimozide 2mg/day for 10 months and followed-up without any antipsychotic treatment for an additional five months. At her last examination, she was euthyroid, not receiving antipsychotics and was not having any delusions. Conclusion: Rarely, few endocrine conditions like hyperthyroidism can cause secondary delusional parasitosis. This case demonstrated a rare occurrence of correlation of symptoms with her thyroid profile.

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“…Huber ve arkadaşlarının yaptıkları çalışmada DP'nin, striatal dopamin taşıyıcı (DAT) aktivitesinde azalma ile ilişkili olabileceği öne sürülmektedir (7). Presinaptik bir plazma proteini olan DAT, striatumda yoğun oranda bulunur ve aktivitesindeki azalma, hücre dışı dopamin miktarındaki artış ile bağlantılıdır.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

“…Presinaptik bir plazma proteini olan DAT, striatumda yoğun oranda bulunur ve aktivitesindeki azalma, hücre dışı dopamin miktarındaki artış ile bağlantılıdır. Kokain, pemolin, metilfenidat ya da diğer amfetamin türevleri gibi DAT inhibisyonu yapan ilaç kullanan kişilerde görülen DP, bu şekilde açıklanmaya çalışılmaktadır (1,7). DP tanısı-na sahip hastalarla yapılan manyetik rezonans çalışma-sında, özellikle de tıbbi bir hastalığa ikincil DP görülen kişilerde, striatumda hasar bulunduğu belirtilmektedir.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Parkinson hastalığı ve delüzyonel parazitoz birlikteliği: Bir olgu sunumu / Comorbidity of Parkinson’s disease and delusional parasitosis: a case report

Erdoğan¹,

Genç²,

Celikel³

et al. 2012

Dusunen Adam

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ÖZETParkinson hastalığı ve delüzyonel parazitoz birlikteliği: Bir olgu sunumu Delüzyonel parazitoz kişide, vücudunun parazitler ya da küçük canlılar tarafından sarıldığına dair hatalı ve değiş-tirilemez bir inancın olduğu, az rastlanılan psikiyatrik bir hastalıktır. Her ne kadar her yaşta delüzyonel parazitoz görülebilse de, bazı araştırmalar yaşla birlikte, özellikle kadın cinsiyetinde görülme sıklığının arttığını öne sür-mektedir. Hastalık, genellikle birincil ve ikincil delüzyonel parazitoz olarak sınıflandırılmaktadır. İlki, saptanabilen herhangi bir hastalık sebebi olmayan hastaları kapsarken, ikincil delüzyonel parazitoz grubu genel organik durumla, diğer psikiyatrik hastalıklarla ve bazı maddelerle ilişkilidir. Bu olgu bildiriminde, 15 yıllık Parkinson hastalığı öyküsü bulunan 57 yaşında bir kadın hasta sunulmaktadır. Hastanın, vücudunun parazitler tarafından sarıldı-ğı düşüncesine sahip olduğu, psikiyatrik görüşme sırasında fark edilmiştir. Bu yazıda, Parkinson hastalığı ve delüzyonel parazitoz birlikteliği tartışılmaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: Delüzyonel parazitoz, Parkinson hastalığı, dopamin ABSTRACT Comorbidity of Parkinson's disease and delusional parasitosis: a case reportDelusional parasitosis is a rare psychiatric disorder in which a person has the false and persistent belief of being infested with parasites or small living creatures. Although delusional parasitosis may occur at any age, some researchers suggest an increase in frequency in the elderly, especially in women gender. The disorder usually classified as primary and secondary delusional parasitosis. The first one contains patients without a detectable cause while the secondary delusional parasitosis group is associated with general organic conditions, other psychiatric illnesses and some drugs. In this case report, we present a 57 years-old woman who has Parkinson's disease for 15 years. Her psychiatric interview revealed her persistent thoughts about being infested by parasites. In this paper, we discussed delusional parasitosis comorbidity in Parkinson's disease.

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Delusional parasitosis and the dopamine transporter. A new insight of etiology?

Cited by 94 publications

References 60 publications

Delusional Infestation

Delusional Infestation

Delusional Parasitosis with Associated Thyroid Abnormality

Parkinson hastalığı ve delüzyonel parazitoz birlikteliği: Bir olgu sunumu / Comorbidity of Parkinson’s disease and delusional parasitosis: a case report

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