Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Secondary Mania Ivan Lendvai , M.D., Stephen M. Saravay , M.D., and Maurice D. Steinberg , M.D.
Received October 15, 1998; revised May 3, 1999; accepted May 20, 1999. From the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, New Hyde Park, New York. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Lendvai, Staten Island University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, 375 Seguine Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10309.
Key Words: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease • Mania
Key Words: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease • Mania
Ours is a report of a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease who presented with mania and was initiallly diagnosed and treated for Bipolar I Disorder, manic type. Psychiatric disturbances constitute the prodromal manifestations in 18%–39% of those with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.1 Dementia occurs in all patients and progresses rapidly. Patients may complain of fatigue and appear apathetic; personal hygiene suffers early; in some cases irritability may be prominent.2,3 Depression has been found in more than 30% of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and 10% of patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease need psychiatric hospitalization for depression.1,2 We were unable to find any report of mania as a prominent presenting symptom.
Case Report
The patient, a 45-year-old, married mother of two, was in her usual state of health, working as a secretary until about 8 weeks before admission to a short-term psychiatric inpatient facility. At that time, the patient began to have pressured, incoherent speech, with thoughtracing, and abrupt shifts of thoughts. She went on spending sprees and built up considerable credit card debt, buying unnecessary things. She had severe insomnia, sleeping only a few hours each night. She also complained of blurred vision and gait difficulty, the latter also noted by her family. After evaluation of these complaints and a normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, she was given a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder, manic type. After 2 weeks, she was discharged on Haldol (haloperidol: 15 mg/day), Cogentin (benztropine: 0.5 mg bid), and Depakote (divalproex sodium: 750 mg bid). During the first week at home, she became less spontaneous, increasingly lethargic, and less interpersonally responsive, and her gait problems worsened. She spent much of her time staring into space, not speaking. During the second week at home, the patient became increasingly agitated. Her medications were stopped; Klonopin (clonazepam) was started without improvement, and the patient was hospitalized at another acute psychiatric hospital, again diagnosed as Bipolar I Disorder, manic type.
The patient, a 45-year-old, married mother of two, was in her usual state of health, working as a secretary until about 8 weeks before admission to a short-term psychiatric inpatient facility. At that time, the patient began to have pressured, incoherent speech, with thoughtracing, and abrupt shifts of thoughts. She went on spending sprees and built up considerable credit card debt, buying unnecessary things. She had severe insomnia, sleeping only a few hours each night. She also complained of blurred vision and gait difficulty, the latter also noted by her family. After evaluation of these complaints and a normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, she was given a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder, manic type. After 2 weeks, she was discharged on Haldol (haloperidol: 15 mg/day), Cogentin (benztropine: 0.5 mg bid), and Depakote (divalproex sodium: 750 mg bid). During the first week at home, she became less spontaneous, increasingly lethargic, and less interpersonally responsive, and her gait problems worsened. She spent much of her time staring into space, not speaking. During the second week at home, the patient became increasingly agitated. Her medications were stopped; Klonopin (clonazepam) was started without improvement, and the patient was hospitalized at another acute psychiatric hospital, again diagnosed as Bipolar I Disorder, manic type.
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