The Curious Case of a Violently Ill Woman

Schizophrenia, as our readers know all too well, is a syndrome characterized mainly by the presence of psychotic symptoms that cannot be explained by an underlying disorder. It was described by Kraepelin in 1893 under the name of “Dementia Praecox,” and later, in 1908, Bleuler gave it the word “Schizophrenie.” Its etiology is uncertain,1 almost by definition, and its presentation so heterogeneous that some authors propose the use of the term Aberrant Salience syndrome.2 In some patients, one may intuit psychological mechanisms in the emergence of this disorder. In other patients, however, one senses, without being able to pinpoint exactly how, more biological underpinnings. We feel this case illustrates this second form.