Citation

Rechlin T, Loew TH, Joraschky P. J. Psychosom. Res. 1997; 42(5): 495-498.

Affiliation

Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9194024

Abstract

Psychogenic pain, disturbances of gait and stance, sensory symptoms, dizziness, and psychogenic seizures have been found to be the most common conversion symptoms in neurology clinics. A retrospective analysis of 18 patients suffering from pseudoseizure "status" is presented in this study. All of the patients fulfilled the DSM-III-R criteria of conversion disorder. However, 5 of them had concomitant major depression, 6 suffered from bulimia nervosa, and 7 met the criteria for substance abuse. On Axis II, 10 cases of borderline personality disorder, 2 cases of antisocial personality disorder, and 3 cases of histrionic personality disorder were diagnosed. The majority of the patients had attempted suicide and other forms of self-destructive behavior. The findings suggest that patients with pseudoseizure "status" suffer from severe affective imbalances and disturbed impulse control.

Language: en