[Chronic conversion somatic disorder: a case report].

Conversion disorder is characterized by several neurological and internistical symptoms that cannot be explained by an organic cause, exacerbating after stress events. The course of this disorder is typically short: it usually lasts about two weeks, and only 20-25% of patients relapse in the following year. This paper aims to show the clinical history of a patient complaining conversion symptoms from 7 consecutive years.

Life-saving electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with near-lethal catatonia.

A young woman with bipolar I disorder and comorbid catatonia on enteral nutrition from several months, developed a form of near-lethal catatonia with weight loss, pressure sores, muscle atrophy, electrolyte imbalance, and depression of vital signs. A compulsory treatment was necessary, and informed consent was obtained from her mother for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). After 7 ECT sessions, the patient recovered and resumed feeding.

Anti-purkinje cell and natural autoantibodies in a group of psychiatric patients. Evidences for a correlation with the psychopathological status.

Phenomena of autoimmunity are frequent among psychiatric patients, but we don't know yet if they should be considered primary and linked to the pathophisiology of the disorder, or aspecific and associated to a general immune system activation. Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration (PCD) represents a well known model of specific autoimmunity. In order to better understand the abovementioned issues, we used this condition to compare a set of immune dysfunctions found in a group of psychiatric patients.

How does subjective experience of pain relate to psychopathology among psychiatric patients?

Objective: The study aimed to investigate to what extent general psychopathology is associated with subjective experience of pain in psychiatric outpatients without comorbidity with severe physical diagnosis and whether there are any differences in the experience of pain between genders or diagnoses.

Method: Participants were 575 consecutive outpatients affected by mood disorder or anxiety disorder. Patients completed the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI) and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised.