Plasma homovanillic acid concentrations in catatonia

Maintenance Electroconvulsive Therapy in Catatonia: Clinical Profiles From a Case Series

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to conduct a descriptive analysis of the clinical features and treatment responses in 6 patients with catatonia who received maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

METHODS

Our study included all patients who underwent maintenance ECT (mECT) at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona between September 2020 and September 2022 following a catatonic episode.

RESULTS

The study cohort comprised 5 patients with schizophrenia and 1 patient with major depressive disorder. Among patients with schizophrenia, the first catatonic episode occurred several years after their initial paranoid psychotic episode, whereas the patient with depression experienced a rapid progression from the first depressive episode to catatonia. After acute ECT, 4 patients achieved complete symptomatic remission, 1 patient exhibited a partial response, and another maintained a severe catatonic state. Maintenance ECT was indicated because of the high risk of severe relapses. The mean frequency of mECT sessions was 9.83 (SD, 5.60) days. Notably, 66.67% of the patients were concurrently receiving clozapine as part of their pharmacological treatment. Among patients with schizophrenia, mECT sessions could not be extended beyond 7 to 10 days, whereas the depressed patient could space ECT sessions up to 21 days without experiencing a relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

Maintenance ECT proves to be a safe and well-tolerated strategy for preventing relapses in severe catatonic patients who have previously stabilized with acute ECT. Further research is needed to develop clinical guidelines that define optimal application strategies for mECT in catatonia.

Higher Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels in Catatonic Patients: A Comparison to Non-catatonic Patients and Healthy Controls

Catatonia is a psychomotor syndrome defined by a constellation of predominantly motor symptoms. The aim of the present study was to determine whether recently admitted psychiatric patients with catatonia exhibited higher serum C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels compared to non-catatonic psychiatric patients and healthy controls (HCs). Recently admitted psychiatric patients were screened and evaluated for the catatonia syndrome using the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The study sample was formed by 150 individuals (39 male and 111 female), including 51 catatonic patients, 55 non-catatonic patients, and 44 HCs. Serum hs-CRP levels were processed with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum levels of creatine kinase (CK), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), immunoglobulin G (IgG), complement component 3 (C3), and complement component 4 (C4) were also determined. There was a significantly higher percentage of patients with high inflammatory levels (hs-CRP > 3000ng/ml) in the catatonic (43.1%) than in the non-catatonic (14.5%) or HCs group (9.1%) (χ 2 =18.9, P < .001). Logistic regression showed that catatonic patients had significantly higher hs-CRP levels compared to non-catatonic patients even after controlling for other clinical and laboratory variables (OR = 3.52, P = .015, 95% CI 1.28-9.79). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that log-transformed hs-CRP was independently predicted by body mass index and log-transformed C4, ACTH, and Cortisol in catatonic patients. Findings of the present study suggest that catatonia is specifically linked to a higher level of systemic inflammation, not merely attributable to the overall psychopathology, or alterations in the stress level and complement system.

Going Back to Kahlbaum's Psychomotor (and GABAergic) Origins: Is Catatonia More Than Just a Motor and Dopaminergic Syndrome?

In 1874, Karl Kahlbaum described catatonia as an independent syndrome characterized by motor, affective, and behavioral anomalies. In the following years, various catatonia concepts were established with all sharing the prime focus on motor and behavioral symptoms while largely neglecting affective changes. In 21st century, catatonia is a well-characterized clinical syndrome. Yet, its neurobiological origin is still not clear because methodological shortcomings of hitherto studies had hampered this challenging effort. To fully capture the clinical picture of catatonia as emphasized by Karl Kahlbaum, 2 decades ago a new catatonia scale was developed (Northoff Catatonia Rating Scale [NCRS]). Since then, studies have used NCRS to allow for a more mechanistic insight of catatonia. Here, we undertook a systematic review searching for neuroimaging studies using motor/behavioral catatonia rating scales/criteria and NCRS published up to March 31, 2019. We included 19 neuroimaging studies. Studies using motor/behavioral catatonia rating scales/criteria depict cortical and subcortical motor regions mediated by dopamine as neuronal and biochemical substrates of catatonia. In contrast, studies relying on NCRS found rather aberrant higher-order frontoparietal networks which, biochemically, are insufficiently modulated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic and glutamatergic transmission. This is further supported by the high therapeutic efficacy of GABAergic agents in acute catatonia. In sum, this systematic review points out the difference between motor/behavioral and NCRS-based classification of catatonia on both neuronal and biochemical grounds. That highlights the importance of Kahlbaum's original truly psychomotor concept of catatonia for guiding both research and clinical diagnosis and therapy.

Catatonia-Like Syndrome Treated With Low-Dose Ketamine

BACKGROUND

Ketamine's application in psychiatry have expanded, but it appears never to have been previously used to diagnose and treat patients with catatonia-like syndrome that occasionally present to emergency departments.

CASE REPORT

A 23-year-old male was observed to suddenly stop talking. His ED GCS was 8 and had normal vital signs. While verbally unresponsive, he refused to open his eyes, demonstrated waxy flexibility of his arms, but the balance of his physical, neurological, and laboratory exams were normal. Strongly suspecting a catatonic state, they needed to rapidly confirm that diagnosis or begin evaluating him for potentially life-threatening non-psychiatric illnesses. Lacking other diagnostic modalities, they administered low-dose ketamine boluses. Ketamine 25 mg (1 mL) was diluted in 9 mL NS (2.5 mg/mL). Based on similar protocols, 1 mL of the solution (0.03 mg/Kg) was given intravenously every few minutes. After 12.5 mg ketamine, he was conscious and verbal. Subsequent history confirmed a prior episode requiring an extensive, non-productive medical evaluation. Psychiatry later confirmed the diagnosis. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Patients with catatonia-like states pose a difficult diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. Multiple interventions have been used with varying success. Optimal interventions provide a rapid resolution (or demonstrate that a psychiatric cause is not likely), be safe, encompass few contraindications, and be familiar to the clinician. In our patient, subanesthetic doses of ketamine fulfilled these criteria and successfully resolved the condition. If shown effective in other cases, ketamine would be a valuable addition to our psychiatric armamentarium.

Systematic review of catatonia treatment

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the evidence-based treatment of catatonia in adults. The secondary aim is to develop a treatment protocol.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic review of published treatment articles (case series, cohort or randomized controlled studies) which examined the effects of particular interventions for catatonia and/or catatonic symptoms in adult populations and used valid outcome measures was performed. The articles for this review were selected by searching the electronic databases of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PSYCHINFO.

RESULTS

Thirty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Lorazepam and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) proved to be the most investigated treatment interventions. The response percentages in Western studies varied between 66% and 100% for studies with lorazepam, while in Asian and Indian studies, they were 0% and 100%. For ECT, the response percentages are 59%-100%. There does not seem to be evidence for the use of antipsychotics in catatonic patients without any underlying psychotic disorder.

CONCLUSION

Lorazepam and ECT are effective treatments for which clinical evidence is found in the literature. It is not possible to develop a treatment protocol because the evidence for catatonia management on the basis of the articles reviewed is limited. Stringent treatment studies on catatonia are warranted.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome and serotonin syndrome

The clinical manifestation of drug-induced abnormalities in thermoregulation occurs across a variety of drug mechanisms. The aim of this chapter is to review two of the most common drug-induced hyperthermic states, serotonin syndrome and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment strategies will be discussed, in addition to differentiating between these two syndromes and differentiating them from other hyperthermic or febrile syndromes. Our goal is to both review the current literature and to provide a practical guide to identification and treatment of these potentially life-threatening illnesses. The diagnostic and treatment recommendations made by us, and by other authors, are likely to change with a better understanding of the pathophysiology of these syndromes.

Increased biogenic catecholamine and metabolite levels in two patients with malignant catatonia

The pathophysiology of malignant catatonia, a rare life-threatening psychiatric syndrome, has not yet been elucidated. This paper reports on two patients with malignant catatonia who showed elevated urinary or plasma catecholamine levels. Patient 1 had high catecholamine and metabolite levels in a 24-hour urine sample, and patient 2 had elevated plasma catecholamine levels. These findings indicate the presence of peripheral sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity in malignant catatonia. Symptoms of autonomic dysfunction, including tachycardia, labile blood pressure, and diaphoresis, are typical features of malignant catatonia and may be related to the increased levels of biogenic amines in these cases. Although the findings in the present study cannot entirely explain the pathophysiology of malignant catatonia, they do indicate that hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system may be involved in the pathology of this condition.

Etiopathogenesis of catatonia: generalizations and working hypotheses

Catatonia has been rediscovered over the last 2 decades as a unique syndrome that consists of specific motor signs with a characteristic and uniform response to benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy. Further inquiry into its developmental, environmental, psychological, and biological underpinnings is warranted. In this review, medical catatonia models of motor circuitry dysfunction, abnormal neurotransmitters, epilepsy, genetic risk factors, endocrine dysfunction, and immune abnormalities are discussed. Developmental, environmental, and psychological risk factors for catatonia are currently unknown. The following hypotheses need to be tested: neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a drug-induced form of malignant catatonia; Prader-Willi syndrome is a clinical GABAergic genetic-endocrine model of catatonia; Kleine-Levin syndrome represents a periodic form of adolescent catatonia; and anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune type of catatonia.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome and its controversies

PURPOSE

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a rare and life threatening condition usually defined as a complication of treatment with antipsychotics characterized by severe rigidity, tremor, fever, altered mental status, autonomic dysfunction, and elevated serum creatine phosphokinase and white blood cell count. The literature on this topic is rather extensive, but many aspects related to the syndrome are thought to be controversial. The aim of this paper, written with the clinician in mind, is to summarize some of the most prominent controversies that may have importance in usual clinical practice.

METHODS

The literature was searched for reviews, reports on the series of cases, individual case reports of NMS, and other clinically and theoretically important information.

RESULTS

There are controversies associated with virtually all important aspects of NMS. At the moment, it is not clear if this drug reaction is idiosyncratic or not, what diagnostic criteria are the most appropriate for usual clinical practice, and it seems that the estimated incidence is not in accordance with the number of treated patients. There are rather different approaches to the pathophysiological mechanisms, differential diagnosis, and treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Some of the controversies related to NMS have an influence on our understanding of the condition and may have importance in clinical practice. There is a need for further research that should elucidate these controversies.

Vision in depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

Reduced dopaminergic transmission has been implicated in the pathophysiology of major depression. Furthermore, dopaminergic neurotransmission plays an important role in the physiology of visual contrast sensitivity (CS). To test the hypothesis that altered dopaminergic neurotransmission plays a role in major depression we measured contrast sensitivity in patients with major depression and in healthy control subjects.

METHODS

Twenty-eight patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder were compared to 21 age-matched control subjects on their ability to detect a Gabor target with slightly elevated luminance contrast embedded in seven equi-contrast distracters.

RESULTS

Contrast discrimination thresholds were significantly elevated in unmedicated and medicated patients with major depression compared to control subjects, at all pedestal contrast levels tested.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrast discrimination performance is reduced in depressive patients and might reflect a state of altered dopaminergic neurotransmission.

The role of coagulation marker fibrin D-dimer in early diagnosis of catatonia

Catatonia is a common but under-diagnosed neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by the occurrence in a single patient of concomitant affective, motor and behavioral symptoms with a hazardous outcome (called lethal catatonia: LC). Deaths by thromboembolic disease have been previously reported in LC. A 2-year prospective study was carried out to examine D-dimer levels, an early and sensitive coagulation marker, in patients with catatonic disorders. Twenty-five acute catatonic patients and 50 psychiatric control patients - matched on age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis, general psychopathology and neuroleptic medication matched - were investigated and considered in relation to D-dimer blood levels and other biological variables (serum iron, creatine phosphokinase, leukocytosis). All catatonic patients had high D-dimer levels and mean levels were significantly higher in catatonics than in non-catatonic patients, independently of age, gender, immobility, comorbid diagnosis, general psychopathology and neuroleptic medication. No significant association was observed with other biological parameters investigated. These preliminary and exploratory results suggest that catatonia is associated with early coagulation activation.

Catatonia Associated with Coadministration of Tramadol and Meperidine

Tramadol and meperidine are frequently prescribed medications in the management of oncologic patients. The pharmacologic interaction of these two drugs may induce mental disturbance. This was demonstrated by our case of a 39-year-old woman with gastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma), stage III after chemotherapy. She was admitted to our medical ward with the complaint of abdominal pain. Pantoprazole 40 mg and tramadol 150 mg daily were prescribed with intravenous route after hospitalization. Two days later, the patient developed transient visual hallucinations and disorientation after additional injection of meperidine (25 mg). Six hours later, catatonic features appeared. The duty doctor stopped all the medications. Two days later, the catatonic features disappeared. From the clinical course, we suggest that the catatonia was caused by drug interactions between tramadol and meperidine. The pharmacodynamic mechanism might be related to the dopamine and serotonin systems.

Catatonia in childhood and adolescence

Child and adolescent catatonia has been poorly investigated. A literature review was undertaken to clarify phenomenology, diagnosis, etiology, and treatment as well as ethical problems of catatonia in childhood and adolescence. Although there are no accepted standardized criteria for catatonia in childhood and adolescence, catatonic features described by child psychiatrists are similar to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn; DSM-IV) criteria for catatonia. With respect to etiology, the motor and behavioral symptoms that are part of catatonia bear some similarities with those seen in autism. Several case reports suggest an association between catatonia and general medical conditions. Certain drugs abused by youngsters as well as prescribed medicine can induce catatonia. Regarding catatonic cases originally diagnosed as schizophrenia, it is unclear whether all of these cases should be identified as schizophrenia or whether some of them are pervasive developmental disorders that develop psychic features in adolescence. Environmental changes preceding the onset of catatonia in patients with mood disorder play a possibly important role. Examples that suggest stress-induced catatonia, although rare, also exist. A few patients exhibit features of malignant catatonia, some without taking neuroleptics and others having taken them. Benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy are considered to be effective treatments for catatonic youngsters.

Response of catatonia to risperidone: two case reports

The present study describes two patients, both of Yemenite origin, with catatonic schizophrenia who responded to treatment with risperidone. One had a long history of psychiatric disorder, whereas the other was a first-episode, drug-naive patient. Our observation agrees with previous reports on the use of risperidone and other novel neuroleptic agents in the treatment of catatonia of different etiologies.

Brain imaging in catatonia: current findings and a pathophysiologic model

Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum originally described catatonia as a psychomotor disease that encompassed motor, affective, and behavioral symptoms. In the beginning of the 20th century, catatonia was considered to be the motoric manifestation of schizophrenia; therefore, neuropathologic research mostly focused on neuroanatomic substrates (ie, the basal ganglia underlying the generation of movements). Even though some alterations were found in basal ganglia, the findings in these subcortical structures are not consistent. Recently, there has been a reemergence of interest into researching catatonia. Brain imaging studies have shown major and specific alterations in a right hemispheric neural network that includes the medial and lateral orbitofrontal and posterior parietal cortex. This neural network may be abnormally modulated by altered functional interactions between gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic and glutamatergic transmission. This may account for the interrelationship among motor, emotional, and behavioral alterations observed in both clinical phenomenology and the subjective experiences of patients with catatonia. Such functional interrelationships should be explored in further detail in catatonia, which may also serve as a paradigmatic model for the investigation of psychomotor and brain function in general.

Catatonic signs in neuroleptic malignant syndrome

The study assessed catatonic signs in neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). Records of inpatients meeting both stringent research criteria and DSM-IV criteria (n = 11) or only DSM-IV criteria (n = 5) for NMS were identified. The records were systematically rated on a 23-item rating scale for the presence of catatonic signs. Scores for NMS severity were related to the number of catatonic signs. Fifteen patients met both research criteria for catatonia and DSM-IV motor criteria for organic catatonia. The severity scores of NMS correlated with the number of catatonic signs (Spearman rho = +.71, P < .005). We conclude that multiple catatonic signs are present in NMS and the severity of NMS predicts the number of catatonic signs.

Glutamatergic dysfunction in catatonia? Successful treatment of three acute akinetic catatonic patients with the NMDA antagonist amantadine

Therapeutic efficiacy of the NMDA antagonist amantadine is reported in three acute neuroleptic free akinetic catatonic patients. Intravenous infusion of amantadine led to the resolution of catatonic symptoms and considerable reductions of scores in various motor scales (Simpson Angus scale for extrapyramidal side effects (SEPS), the abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS), Rogers catatonia and schizophrenia scales). The therapeutic effect of amantadine showed a characteristic temporal pattern with most pronounced effects four to six hours after administration and recurrence of catatonic symptoms by 24 hours later, at least partially. Such a temporal pattern of therapeutic efficacy and decreasing efficacy occurred in all three patients on all days. The results suggest the central importance of glutamatergic dysfunction in catatonic syndrome.