R.C. SHARMA be reserved, intovoert, irritable and short temper­ ed without any antisocial or histrionic traits. No alcohol or drug dependence was reported. On examination the patient was found to be retarded with depressed affect, depressive and suicidal ideation along with guilt feelings. In the ward, she attempted suicide twice but survived with multiple fractures. She was administered amitryptil Line-150 mg per day and 50 mg chlorpromazine at bed time. Her depression lifted within a fortnight but hospitalisation had to be prolonged due to associated orthopaedic disabili­ ty. During subsequent two year follow-up, the patient had two depressive episodes with the per­ sisting stealing pattern but without any legal prob­ lems. COMMENTS: The patient satisfied DSMIII-R criteria for the diagnosis of kleptomania and recurrent major depressive disorder. The striking feature of the present case was her tendency for massive hoard­ ing of a wide range of mostly defective stolen items (though at times she used to give back the stolen article on her own or on being caught). A link between kleptomania and affective disorders (including major depression) has been suggested by many authors (Ramelli and Mapelli, 1979; Mc Elroy et al. 1991; Goldman, 1992). Kleptomania has been found to respond to antide­ pressants (Ramelli and Mapelli, 1979; Fishbain, 1987; Mc Elroy et al. 1989) and kleptomanic stealing has been reported to relieve major depres­ sion (Coid, 1984; Fishbain, 1987). The present case also shows a strong as­ sociation between kleptomania and major depres­ sive disorder, most notably worsening of depres- sion after failing to steal and a moderate relief in kleptomanic symptoms with antidpressant treat­ ment. Further research is warranted in the form of systematic studies based on rigorously diag­ nosed kleptomanic individuals to establish the etiopathological implications of kleptomania and to evaluate the usefulness of pharmacological and psychsocial modes of treatment for this disorder. REFERENCES: A m e r i c a n P s y c h i a t r i c Association (1987) Diagnostic and statistical Manual of Men­ tal Disorder, Third Edition, Revised. Wahsington. D C, APA. Coid, J (1984) Relief of diazepam with drawal syndrome by shoplifting. British Journal of Psychiatry. 145, 552-554. Fishbain, D.A. (1987) Kleptomania as risk taking behaviour in response to depression, American Journal of Psychotherapy, 41, 598- 603. Goldman, M.J. (1992) Kleptomania: An overview. Psychiatric Annals, 22, 68-71. Mc Elroy, S.L., Hudson, J.I., Pope, H.G. J r . and Keck, P.E. (1991) Kleptomania : Clinical characteristics and associated psycho- pathology. Psychological Medicine, 21,93-108. Mc Elroy, S.L. Keck, P.E., Pope, H.G. J r . and Hudson, J . I . (1989) Pharmacological treatment of kleptomania and bulimia nervosa. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 9,358- 360. Kamelli,K and Mapelli, G (1979) Mel ancholia and Kleptomania. Acta psychiatrica Belgica, 79, 57-74. R.C. Sharma, M.D, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, Indira Gandhi Medical College SH1MLA - 171 001. 191