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Folie a deux in bipolar affective disorder: a case report
Author(s) -
Patel Anish S,
Ar Danilo,
Ryan William
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
bipolar disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.285
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1399-5618
pISSN - 1398-5647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2004.00099.x
Subject(s) - mania , bipolar disorder , context (archaeology) , psychology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychiatry , delusional disorder , isolation (microbiology) , psychosis , cognition , bioinformatics , paleontology , biology
Background: The syndrome of folie a deux is uncommon and often described in the context of schizophrenia. We report a case of induced delusional disorder associated with bipolar affective disorder (BAD). Case report: We present a case of monozygotic twins in their late 60s with an unusually close relation with one another and relative isolation from other people. Both twins have been diagnosed as suffering from BAD and relapsed into mania with psychotic symptoms. During their hospital stay they exhibited features consistent with folie a deux. Separation caused disappearance of the phenomenon whilst the affective disorder persisted. Conclusion: This case highlights the unusual and rare phenomenon of folie a deux occurring in the context of BAD. It also suggests current difficulty in defining folie a deux as an entity according to current diagnostic criteria.