Title:Catatonia: A Brief Update
Volume: 8
Issue: 3
Author(s): Sergio Ruiz-Doblado, Laura Carrion-Exposito, Concepcion Bancalero-Romero and Antonio Baena-Baldomero
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Catatonia. Organic-Psychiatry. Benzodiazepines. Electroconvulsive-Therapy (ECT), Endocrine-Metabolic, Neurological, Immune system, Therapeutic, Pathophysiology, Dopamine
Abstract: Catatonia has undergone many changes since it was first described by Kahlbaum in 1874 (“madness of
rigidity”). Nowadays, we can distinguish many different ethiologies for this syndrome: Organic catatonia (the most
common); affective (the next one); schizophrenic; and drug-induced. In recent reviews, there was no psychiatric disorder
in 76% of cases of catatonia. The unitary pathophysiological conception of catatonia (“catatonic syndrome”) is supported
by current research, including neurological causes, endocrine-metabolic, immunological, therapeutic and abuse drugs,
psychiatric diseases, and others. Differential diagnosis is based on a complete somatic and psychopathological evaluation,
and we must also play a biochemical and neuroimaging complementary tests´ battery. When an organic disorder is
considered to be the ethiology, therapy should be targeted against this medical condition. If this is not feasible and/or
catatonia persist or interferes with medical treatment, the elective therapeutic management should be benzodiazepines and
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). Memantine, aripiprazol, and other drugs have been also used with weak results.
