Catatonia in high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: case report and review of literature.

Although catatonia has been identified in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, little is known about this relationship. Studies on previous case reports dealing with the relationship between catatonia and autism spectrum disorders are reviewed, then the case of a 28-yr.-old Japanese woman with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder who exhibited mood disorder and catatonia is described. Her mood disorder was apparently induced by a crisis of her "inner world," constituted as a way of coping with a sense of alienation, related to her impaired development in reciprocal social interaction. Environmental change, a precipitating factor, induced alternation between catatonia and depression. Fluvoxamine ameliorated both features. The catatonia identified in this patient is considered to be symptom derived from depression. Given the limitation of this single case, such a conclusion is necessarily tentative. Closer investigation into cases in which patients with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders describe their own psychological experiences should be pursued.

Catatonia in the elderly.

Catatonia in geriatric patients has been insufficiently investigated. We reviewed 71 case descriptions from 45 studies to clarify the phenomenology, diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of catatonia in the elderly. In elderly patients, catatonia is frequently observed in association with general medical conditions. In patients with a history of depression or schizophrenia, physicians occasionally overlook the medical conditions because they believe the previous psychosis to be the cause of the catatonic features. Despite historical discussions of a relation between the disorders, the number of patients with catatonia and a prior diagnosis of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder is not large. A diagnosis of catatonia should be considered in cases of atypical "collapse" in elderly patients with a previous psychiatric history of mood disorder. Catatonia due to anxiety/adjustment disorder is quite rare, whereas catatonia in association with neuroleptic malignant syndrome is fairly common. For early commencement of treatment, early detection of catatonia in the elderly is important. In studies of psychotropic drug treatment, many authors observed a beneficial response to lorazepam in catatonic patients. For medication-refractory patients, electroconvulsive therapy should be considered. It is important to prevent the development of venous thrombosis as a serious complication in stuporous catatonic patients.

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.