Depersonalisation disorder: clinical features of 204 cases.

Background: Depersonalisation disorder is a poorly understood and underresearched syndrome.

Aims: To carry out a large and comprehensive clinical and psychopathological survey of a series of patients who made contact with a research clinic.

Method: A total of 204 consecutive eligible referrals were included: 124 had a full psychiatric examination using items of the Present State Examination to define depersonalisation/derealisation and 80 had either a telephone interview (n=22) or filled out a number of self-report questionnaires.

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the amygdala in temporal lobe epilepsy-clinico-pathological correlations (a pilot study).

Purpose: We carried out a pilot study of quantitative volumetric MRI of the amygdala in patients undergoing surgery for intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. We wished to explore whether amygdala volume correlated with pre-operative clinical variables and post-operative outcome.

Methods: Ten patients had detailed volumetric measurements of their amygdala and hippocampus according to operationalised anatomical criteria from an optimised MRI imaging sequence.

The spectrum of organic depersonalization: a review plus four new cases.

Depersonalization and derealization are commonly reported in the general population as a response to stress. The symptoms have also been described in patients with a primary psychiatric or organic diagnosis, where their secondary status precludes a DSM-IV diagnosis of depersonalization disorder. The authors present 4 new cases of depersonalization in patients with an underlying organic condition, along with 47 cases from the literature in which the available information permits diagnosis of organic depersonalization.