Importance of Capgras syndrome in shared psychotic disorder: a case report.

Shared psychotic disorder characterized by Capgras syndrome is an extremely rare condition. To our knowledge, there are only a few published papers on this condition. This paper presents a case of shared Capgras syndrome in two sisters. The inducer was a younger sister with schizophrenia, who passed on her Capgras delusion to her older sister after the death of their father. After committing a violent offense caused by Capgras delusion, a court ordered the sisters' involuntary admission to a psychiatric hospital. After being separated and receiving antipsychotic treatment, the sisters showed substantial improvement. However, shortly after hospital discharge, they stopped taking their medication and disappeared. After 15 years, their mother died and shortly afterwards, the sisters were re-admitted for forensic psychiatric evaluation after another violent crime caused by Capgras delusion. Timely recognition, adequate treatment and maintaining a therapeutic alliance could contribute to a better clinical course and outcome of this disorder, and reduce the risk of violent behavior.

Coexistence of different delusional misidentification syndromes in clinical practice: A case series.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to analyse the coexistence of several delusional misidentification syndromes in a clinical sample. METHODS: Over one year, a sample of six patients presenting two or more types of delusional misidentification syndromes was selected. All these patients were admitted to the psychiatric inpatient unit of a Spanish hospital. RESULTS: Despite the different diagnoses, the patients included presented different types of delusional misidentification syndromes, both hyperidentification and hypoidentification. Antipsychotic treatment was not very effective against these delusional misidentification syndromes. CONCLUSIONS: The coexistence of several delusional misidentification syndromes indicates that the aetiopathogenesis of the different types is similar. It is a field with important clinical implications, due to the poor response to treatment, as well as the possible medico-legal implications.

Capgras Syndrome as the Core Manifestation of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

Capgras syndrome (CS) was usually considered a symptom of a functional disorder in the young, most commonly schizophrenia, or an organic disorder in the elderly. The occurrence of CS among early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) is extremely rare. We describe a case in which the unrecognition of CS as part of EOAD resulted in a wrong psychiatric diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. This paper aims to acknowledge CS as an early or core manifestation and highlight EOAD as a differential diagnosis of mental disorders in young people, even without a remarkable family history.

Capgras syndrome and confabulation unfurling anti NMDAR encephalitis with classical papillary thyroid carcinoma: First reported case.

Anti NMDA Receptor encephalitis (ANMDARE) is an immune mediated disease of the central nervous system, caused by circulating antibodies against the NMDA receptor present on neuronal surface. It is known to cause a spectrum of disease ranging from mild behavioral and psychiatric manifestations to full blown seizures, dyskinesias and altered sensorium. It can also be paraneoplastic presentation of a hidden tumor, most commonly ovarian teratoma. Here we present a case of ANMDARE with intriguing presentation of Capgras syndrome and confabulations, who was found to have a malignant papillary thyroid carcinoma, which has been rarely reported.

A Rare Case of Capgras Syndrome in Moyamoya Disease.

Moyamoya disease is a rare cerebrovascular disorder with unknown etiology and psychiatric symptoms occasionally manifest initially. Capgras syndrome is a unique neuropsychiatric symptom that is a delusional misidentification of a familiar person replaced by an identical imposter. We report the case of a 51-year-old woman with frontal lobe ischemic stroke caused by moyamoya disease, presenting with Capgras syndrome. Dysfunction of frontal areas may be attributable to development of Capgras syndrome.

Síndrome de Capgras: una revision de la literatura / Capgras syndrome: a review of the literature

Los síndromes de falsa identificación delirante (DMS, por su sigla en inglés) son trastornos neuropsiquiátricos poco frecuentes que se caracterizan por tener ideas delirantes respecto a la propia identidad y la de otras personas, animales o lugares conocidos por el paciente. Los principales DMS son el Síndrome de Capgras (SC), el de Fregoli, el de doble subjetivo y el de intermetamorfosis. Se presentan en contexto tanto de enfermedades psiquiátricas como en cuadros orgánicos. Distintos modelos han tratado de encontrar una explicación a los DMS, con aportes tanto desde la psicología como de las neurociencias. Entre las causas están enfermedades neurodegenerativas, cuadros psiquiátricos, alteraciones estructurales, efecto de drogas, y alteraciones metabólicas. El manejo depende de la patología de base y las características clínicas específicas. Esta revisión se centra específicamente en el SC, ya que dentro de los DMS, es el más frecuente y estudiado

Delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS) are rare neuropsychiatric disorders that are characterized by having delirious ideas regarding one's and other people, animals or places identity known by the patient. The main DMS are the Capgras syndrome, the Fregoli syndrome, the subjective double syndrome and the intermetamorphosis syndrome. They appear in context of both psychiatric illnesses and organic disorders. Different models have tried to find an explanation to the DMS, with contributions from both psychology and neurosciences. Among the causes are neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric symptoms, structural alterations, drug effects, and metabolic alterations. Management depends on the underlying pathology and the specific clinical characteristics. This review focuses specifically on the SC, since within the DMS, it is the most frequent and studied.

Capgras Syndrome in Advanced Parkinson's Disease.

Psychosis is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), especially in advanced disease, and can lead to a number of psychotic symptoms, including delusions. One uncommon delusion is Capgras syndrome (CS). The authors report on three PD patients with a history of deep brain stimulation (DBS) who developed this delusion. The anatomic targets in these three patients were the subthalamic nuclei in two patients and the globus pallidus interna in one patient. The length of time between surgery and development of CS varied but was greater than 6 months. Additionally, all three patients showed evidence of impaired cognition prior to development of CS. Therefore, due to the length of time between DBS and CS in all three cases and the fact that one patient developed CS months after DBS explanation, DBS does not appear to be associated with CS. Given the distressing nature of this condition, patients with advanced PD who undergo DBS should be regularly screened for symptoms of psychosis with awareness of CS as a potential form.

Capgras Syndrome and Other Delusional Misidentification Syndromes.

The delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS) are a group of disorders, characterized by patients mistaking the identity of people they know, although they recognize them physically. The term DMS is an umbrella term which may cover disorders whose definition extends to objects other than people, such as animals, places, or familiar material objects. The most common and best known DMS is Capgras syndrome. In this disorder, the misidentification leads to the delusional conviction that a close friend or relative has been replaced by an identical - or almost identical - "double," whose original has disappeared. This double is an imposter without name or identity. Most often considered as a persecutor, the double may be subjected to aggression, which may be very violent. Neuropsychological hypotheses based on cerebral dysfunctions are now commonly considered to be at the origin of the disorder. They have been elaborated from achievements in the neurosciences, particularly the facial recognition models. In return, knowledge about the normal cognitive processes involved in recognition and familiarity has benefited from the work that cognitive neuropsychiatry has invested in these disorders. The DMS are observed in various contexts of morbidity: primary psychiatric diagnosis, or secondary to various organic disorders, particularly in neurodegenerative disease; they are rarely met in isolated form. Most often, they develop in line with the associated pathology. In the absence of consensual clinical description, the epidemiology of DMS is uncertain; they may be more frequent than previously supposed. There is no specific treatment for these disorders; neuroleptics are generally used in association with treatment of the concomitant disorder. The frequent association of DMS with organic disorders which may be curable and the particularly dangerous profile of these patients are factors that underline the need for better screening.

Capgras syndrome in Parkinson's disease: two new cases and literature review.

The Capgras syndrome (CS) is a rare psychiatric disorder. CS is classified as a delusional misidentification syndrome. Initially, CS was described in paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. CS has also been reported in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. To date, there are very few descriptions of the occurrence of CS in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), with or without dementia. Considering the recent observation of two new cases in PD patients, a systematic overview of the literature published between 1976 and 2016 reporting CS in PD was conducted. The purpose of this article is to examine the phenomenon in people with PD with and without dementia, the psychopathologic context in which it happened, the role played by the dopaminergic medications and to define useful therapeutic strategies. Our CS cases occurred in two elderly patients with advanced PD and cognitive impairment, respectively, after an acute stressor event and after an increase of the total daily dose of levodopa. In light of our observations and the cases reported in the literature, we argue that CS is an acute or subacute psychotic disorder occurring mostly in PD with dementia. Besides, the increase in brain dopamine levels induced by acute stressful events and/or dopamine-enhancing medications should be considered as a possible causal mechanism of CS in patients with advanced stages of PD and cognitive decline.

'Myxoedema madness' with Capgras syndrome and catatonic features responsive to combination olanzapine and levothyroxine.

We present the case of an elderly woman with hypothyroidism and no psychiatric history who presented with new onset of psychosis, paranoia, catatonic features and Capgras syndrome (CS). This case illustrates the spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms that may accompany hypothyroidism and the importance of considering thyroid dysfunction as a primary contributor to severe psychiatric symptoms, especially in previously stable patients. We demonstrate the effectiveness of combination levothyroxine and olanzapine, with its favourable cardiac profile, in the treatment of myxoedema madness. Antipsychotics can be weaned once psychiatric symptoms resolve and hormone levels are stabilised.

A Case of Capgras Syndrome Related to Hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is commonly associated with a variety of psychiatric conditions, most commonly depression and cognitive impairment, but up to 5% to 15% of symptomatically hypothyroid patients may develop a nonaffective psychosis, classically referred to as "myxedema madness." We report the case of a woman who developed Capgras syndrome in the context of hypothyroidism, and whose psychosis rapidly resolved with levothyroxine supplementation. To date, very few cases of Capgras syndrome related to hypothyroidism have been reported. The pathophysiology of this condition remains unclear but it may be related to global cerebral hypometabolism or possibly to increased cerebral dopamine. Given the robust response of "myxedema madness" to thyroid replacement, psychiatrists should remain vigilant for covert hypothyroidism in patients with psychosis and atypical histories or presentations.

Capgras delusion for animals and inanimate objects in Parkinson's Disease: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Capgras delusion is a delusional misidentification syndrome, in which the patient is convinced that someone that is well known to them, usually a close relative, has been replaced by an impostor or double. Although it has been frequently described in psychotic syndromes, including paranoid schizophrenia, over a third of the documented cases of Capgras delusion are observed in patients with organic brain lesions or neurodegenerative disease, including Parkinson's Disease. Variants of Capgras involving animals or inanimate objects have also been described. The etiology of Capgras in Parkinson's remains unclear, but may arise from a combination of factors, such as frontal lobe dysfunction and dopaminergic medication. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 53-year old right-handed female with Parkinson's disease who developed Capgras delusion during treatment with dopamine agonists and Levodopa/Carbidopa. She became convinced that her pet dogs and the plants in her garden had been substituted by identically looking ones. Our patient was initially treated with Quetiapine, with no improvement, and subsequently treated with Clozapine, which lead to partial regression of her symptoms. Neuropsychological Evaluation showed Mild Cognitive Impairment in Executive Functions. CONCLUSIONS: Given the clinical history, onset and evolution of symptoms we believe our patient's delusion resulted from the overlap of dopaminergic medication and Mild Cognitive Impairment in executive functions. Zoocentric Capgras, the variant we describe, has been rarely described in scientific literature, and we believe it is of interest due to its unusual characteristics.

Cotard and Capgras syndrome after ischemic stroke.

Capgras and Cotard are delusional misidentification syndromes characterized by delusions about oneself, others, places, and objects. To date, there are few cases of comorbidity of both syndromes. We describe a case of aphasic stroke patient affected by cerebral ischemia localized in right temporoparietal region. The patient showed a typical clinical picture of delusional disorder attributable, through psychological assessment, to comorbidity of both Capgras and Cotard syndromes.

Brain Metabolic Dysfunction in Capgras Delusion During Alzheimer's Disease: A Positron Emission Tomography Study.

Capgras delusion is characterized by the misidentification of people and by the delusional belief that the misidentified persons have been replaced by impostors, generally perceived as persecutors. Since little is known regarding the neural correlates of Capgras syndrome, the cerebral metabolic pattern of a patient with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Capgras syndrome was compared with those of 24-healthy elderly participants and 26 patients with AD without delusional syndrome. Comparing the healthy group with the AD group, the patient with AD had significant hypometabolism in frontal and posterior midline structures. In the light of current neural models of face perception, our patients with Capgras syndrome may be related to impaired recognition of a familiar face, subserved by the posterior cingulate/precuneus cortex, and impaired reflection about personally relevant knowledge related to a face, subserved by the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.