Catatonia

Catatonia means a person is awake, but does not move, talk, or react to anything but pain. The person can stay stiff and still for hours. A person with catatonia may look to be in a stupor (being mentally numb and in a daze).  The cause is in the nervous system; the brain and nerves. This problem was first written about in 1874 in Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein.

 Causes 
Catatonia can sometimes happen with mental disorders. It can be a symptom of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Catatonia may also happen when a person abuses drugs or overdoses by taking too much of a drug.

Catatonia can also be caused by many different medical disorders. Some causes are infections, such as encephalitis; autoimmune diseases; damage to the brain from strokes; and metabolic problems. 

A person can also get catatonia from benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, which happens if the person quickly stops taking benzodiazepine medications.

 Treatment 
Doctors can treat catatonia. They usually start with medicines such as benzodiazepines. If those medicines do not work; doctors may use shock therapy. Antipsychotic medicines can also be used, but with safety in mind. Sometimes they can make catatonia worse or have bad side effects.Fink M, Taylor MA: CATATONIA: A Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment, Cambridge U Press, 2003" A group of anesthetic drugs called NMDA antagonists may be helpful when benzodiazepines don't work.

References

Other websites
 Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders - Catatonic Disorders

Category:Mental illnesses