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Drug‐induced creutzfeldt‐jakob like syndrome: A review
Author(s) -
Fear Christopher F.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.470070203
Subject(s) - myoclonus , discontinuation , dementia , medicine , lithium (medication) , disease , psychiatry , pediatrics , intensive care medicine , neuroscience , psychology , pathology
Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease is an untreatable degenerative disorder which presents problems in diagnosis. The clinical picture is said to be characterised by dementia, myoclonus and periodic triphasic discharge on the electroencephalogram. The high profile given to this disorder recently will lead inevitably to more diagnoses being made. There have been reports of a syndrome identical to CJD which is due to psychotropic drugs, particularly lithium, and which resolves spontaneously on discontinuation of the responsible medication. The available reports of this syndrome are reviewed and consideration is given to its validity and possible mechanisms by which it may be produced.