Schizophrenia and Atypical Motor Features in a Case of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (The Steele-Richardson-Olszewski Syndrome)

Mental manifestations are characteristic of the syndrome described by Steele, Richardson, and Olszewski as progressive supranuclear palsy (SRO). Discussions emphasize cognitive aspects, namely the “subcortical dementia” for which the disease is prototypical, but personality change has been mentioned beginning with the earliest accounts. Psychosis has been virtually absent from neuropsychiatric descriptions, perhaps curiously so in view of the association between subcortical disease and delusions. We report here a case of autopsy-proven SRO in which a schizophrenia-like psychosis was a central feature.