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Most individuals are accustomed to psychiatric problems similar to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, however some circumstances are so uncommon that many psychiatrists gained’t come throughout a single case of their skilled lives. Right here I current 5 of the rarest – and strangest – syndromes recognized to psychiatry.
Fregoli syndrome
Fregoli syndrome is the place somebody believes that completely different persons are in actual fact the identical one that simply adjustments their look. Individuals with this syndrome typically really feel persecuted by these they imagine to be in disguise. The dysfunction is known as after Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian theatre actor who was recognized for his outstanding capability to shortly change his look whereas on stage.
Fregoli syndrome sometimes happens with different psychological problems, similar to bipolar dysfunction, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive dysfunction. It will also be attributable to mind damage and use of the drug levodopa within the remedy of Parkinson’s disease.
A assessment in 2018 discovered that fewer than 50 instances worldwide had been reported because the situation was first described. Nonetheless, a more moderen examine (2020) reported an incidence of 1.1% amongst sufferers following a stroke, so actually greater than 50 instances however nonetheless very uncommon. There isn’t any recognized treatment for Fragoli syndrome, however remedy with antipsychotic medication could reduce the signs.
Cotard’s syndrome
Cotard’s syndrome, also called “strolling corpse syndrome”, is the place folks maintain the delusional perception that they’re useless and don’t exist. Others imagine that physique elements are lacking.
The syndrome is known as after the Nineteenth-century French neurologist Jules Cotard, who first described the situation in 1882.
Schizophrenia, despair and bipolar dysfunction are danger components for Cotard’s syndrome. Nonetheless, it has additionally been reported as a uncommon side-effect of the anti-viral drug acyclovir.
The syndrome is believed to originate from a disconnection between the areas of the mind that recognise faces and the areas that affiliate emotional content material with such facial recognition.
This uncommon situation is often handled with antidepressants, antipsychotics, and temper stabilisers, in addition to electroconvulsive remedy.
Alien hand syndrome
Alien hand syndrome is among the strangest neurological problems. It’s the place an individual’s hand seems to have a thoughts of its personal and acts autonomously, and the place the particular person feels as if their hand doesn’t belong to them.
This syndrome was first recognized in 1908 however was not clearly outlined till the early Nineteen Seventies. The time period “alien hand syndrome” was coined by Joseph Bogen, an American neurophysiologist, to explain a curious wayward behaviour often seen throughout restoration from sure sorts of mind surgical procedure.
Individuals with alien hand syndrome sometimes have sensory processing problems and dissociate themselves from the actions of their hand. Analysis signifies that folks with the syndrome typically personify the alien hand, and should imagine it’s possessed by another spirit or alien life kind.
Causes of the syndrome embrace dementia, strokes, prion illness (a deadly mind illness), tumours and seizures. Instances of alien hand syndrome have additionally been reported amongst sufferers who’ve had surgical procedure to separate the left and proper mind hemispheres to deal with extreme epilepsy.
The syndrome could be very uncommon. A assessment in 2013 discovered simply 150 instances within the medical journals.
Though there isn’t a treatment for alien hand syndrome, signs may be minimised and managed to some extent by holding the affected hand occupied and concerned in a job – for instance, by giving it an object to carry in its grasp. Different remedies have included injections of botulinum toxin and mirror field remedy (see video). Stroke sufferers seem to have the perfect remedy success.
Ekbom’s syndrome
Ekbom’s syndrome is a tactile hallucination wherein victims imagine they’re infested with parasites – typically skilled as bugs crawling below their pores and skin.
The syndrome is known as after Karl Ekbom, a Swedish neurologist who first described the situation within the late Thirties.
The precise quantity of people that undergo from this syndrome is unknown, however one examine reported round 20 new instances a yr in a big US referral clinic.
In response to a meta-analysis of 1,223 Ekbom instances, the syndrome is extra frequent amongst ladies (two-thirds ladies, one-third males), and extra frequent in these over the age of 40. Signs sometimes lasted three to 4 years.
Ekbom’s syndrome is related to a number of circumstances, together with paranoid schizophrenia, natural mind illness, neurosis and paranoid persona dysfunction. It has additionally been reported in some folks present process alcohol withdrawal, cocaine misuse, strokes, dementia, and lesions in part of the mind referred to as the thalamus.
Psychological remedies are sometimes not wished by Ekbom’s syndrome victims, as they’re satisfied that the issue wants medical remedy.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome
Alice in Wonderland syndrome, also called Todd syndrome, refers to when an individual’s sense of physique picture, imaginative and prescient, listening to, contact and house/time are distorted. Individuals with the situation sometimes expertise objects to be smaller than they really are, whereas folks appear greater than they’re. Or the alternative: objects are perceived to be bigger than they’re and other people seem smaller. These experiences could also be accompanied by emotions of paranoia.
Little is thought about how frequent this dysfunction is. Victims are mostly kids and migraine victims.
Individuals with the situation can turn into frightened and panic-stricken, so profitable remedy typically contains relaxation and leisure. Typically, it’s a comparatively short-lived situation. The latest assessment on Alice in Wonderland syndrome reported that near half of all victims are handled efficiently.
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