Are we missing dementia with Lewy bodies?: a case report.

Objectives: We aim to explore the importance of early diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies in order to facilitate effective psychiatric management. We present a case where delayed diagnosis stemming from an atypical presentation illustrates the complex issues involved in identifying and treating this type of dementia.

Conclusions: We discuss the difficulty of diagnosis of this disorder in the absence of obvious memory dysfunction or parkinsonian symptoms.

Where pseudo-hallucinations meet dissociation: a cluster analysis.

Objectives: The possible link between cognitive areas of perception and integration of consciousness was examined using assessments of hallucinations and derealisation/depersonalization.

Methods: Sixty-five subjects in three main diagnostic groups - posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia - identified by their treating psychiatrist as hearing voices were surveyed regarding characteristics of hallucinations, derealisation/depersonalization, delusions and childhood/adult trauma.

Results: A cluster analysis produced two clusters predominantly determined by variables of hallucinations measures, childhood sexual abuse and derealisation/depersonalization scores.

Pseudohallucinations versus hallucinations: wherein lies the difference?

Objective: This paper firstly explores the historical concept of pseudohallucinations and their phenomenology. It then examines the experience of hallucinosis in two subject groups, one with post-traumatic stress disorder with dissociative symptoms and the second with schizophrenia.

Method: The two groups were assessed using the Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale with a view to identifying differences in the hallucinatory and delusional experience.