Psychopathology. 2011;44(3):201-4. doi: 10.1159/000322794. Epub 2011 Mar 17.

Fabry's disease and psychosis: causality or coincidence?

Gairing S1, Wiest R, Metzler S, Theodoridou A, Hoff P.

• 1Department of General and Social Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

A 21-year-old female with Fabry's disease (FD) presented acute psychotic symptoms such as delusions, auditory hallucinations and formal thought disorders.

Since the age of 14, she had suffered from various psychiatric symptoms increasing in frequency and intensity. We considered the differential diagnoses of prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia and organic schizophrenia-like disorder.

Routine examinations including cognitive testing, electroencephalography and structural magnetic resonance imaging revealed no pathological findings. Additional structural and functional imaging demonstrated a minor CNS involvement of FD, yet without functional limitations.

In summary our examination results support the thesis that in the case of our patient a mere coincidence of FD and psychotic symptoms is more likely than a causal connection.

Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

PMID:

21412034