Most of us are familiar with the “more common” psychiatric disorders, if that goes, such as schizophrenia or bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders, however there are many others.
And some are so rare that most psychiatrists around the world you will not find a case in your entire professional careerHe.
Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit and professor of behavioral addiction at the Nottingham Trent UniversityIn the UK, lists the five rarest syndromes in the known world of psychiatry.
1- Fregoli syndrome
Fregoli syndrome causes the person to believe that different people are, in fact, the same person who simply changes their appearance. People with this syndrome often feels persecuted by those who believe they are in disguise.
I disturb bears the name of Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian stage actor known for his uncanny ability to rapidly change his appearance while on stage.
This syndrome usually occurs with other mental disorderssuch as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It can also be caused by brain injury and the use of the drug levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
A 2018 review found that fewer than 50 cases have been reported worldwide since the condition was first described. However, a more recent study (2020) reported an i1.1% incidence among patients after a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), so it’s certainly well over 50 cases, but it’s still very rare.
There is no known curebut treatment with antipsychotic drugs can reduce symptoms.
2- Cotard syndrome
Cotard syndrome, also known as “walking corpse syndrome,” is when people have the delusional belief that they are dead and do not exist. Others believe that parts of his body are missing.
The syndrome takes its name from the nThe 19th century French Eurologist Jules Cotard, who first described the condition in 1882.
Schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder are risk factors for Cotard syndrome. However, it has also been reported as a rare side effect of the antiviral drug acyclovir.
The syndrome is believed to be caused by a disconnect between areas of the brain that recognize faces and areas that associate emotional content with said facial recognition.
This rare condition usually treated with antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizersas well as electroconvulsive therapy.
3- Alien hand syndrome
It is one of the rarest neurological disorders. It’s when a person believes it his hand does not belong to him, he has a mind of his own and acts independently.
This syndrome first identified in 1908, but it was not clearly defined until the early 1970s. The term was coined by Joseph Bogen, an American neurophysiologist, to describe the curious, capricious behavior occasionally observed during recovery from certain types of brain surgery.
People with this syndrome often have sensory processing disorders and become dissociated from their manual actions. Research indicates that they often personify the alien hand and They may believe that she is possessed by a spirit or alien life form.
Causes include dementia, stroke, prion disease (a fatal brain disease), tumors and seizures. Cases have also been reported among patients undergoing surgery to separate the left and right cerebral hemispheres to treat severe epilepsy.
The syndrome is very rare. A review in 2013 found only 150 cases in medical journals.
While there is no cure, symptoms can be minimized and controlled to some extent by maintaining busy affected hand and involved in a task, for example, giving him an object to hold.
other treatments they included botulinum toxin injections and “mirror box” therapy. Stroke patients appear to have the best treatment success.
4- Ekbom syndrome
It is a tactile hallucination in which the patients they think they are infested with parasitesoften experienced as insects crawling under the skin.
the syndromeand named after Karl Ekboma Swedish neurologist who first described the condition in the late 1930s.
The exact number of people with this syndrome is unknown, but one study has reported about 20 new cases a year at a large US referral clinic
According to a meta-analysis of 1223 cases of Ekbom, the syndrome it is more common among women (two-thirds women, one-third men) and more common in people over the age of 40.
Symptoms usually They lasted three to four years.
the syndromeand is associated with various conditions, including paranoid schizophrenia, organic brain disease, neurosis, and paranoid personality disorder.
It has also been reported in some people suffering from alcohol withdrawal, cocaine abuse, stroke, dementia and damage to a part of the brain called the thalamus.
Patients with this syndrome often they don’t want psychological treatmentas they are convinced that the problem needs medical attention.
5- Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
This syndrome, also known as Todd syndrome, refers to when the senses of body image, vision, hearing, touch and space/time of a person is distorted.
People with this condition often perceive objects as smaller than they actually are, while people appear larger than they actually are. Or the other way around: objects are perceived larger than they are and people seem smaller. These experiences may be accompanied by feelings of paranoia.
Little is known about how common this disorder is. But this is known it mostly affects children and migraine sufferers.
People with this condition they can get scared and panic, thus successful treatment often includes rest and relaxation. In most cases, it is a relatively short-lived condition.
The latest Alice in Wonderland Syndrome review brings it back nearly half of all patients are successfully treated.
Source: Scientific Advisory
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.