תוצאת חיפוש

Brain Imaging and its Clinical Application in Psychiatry

Talma Hendler, Raz Gross, Elinor Goshen, Meir Faibel, Shmuel Hirshmann, Tzila S. Zwass, Leon Grunhaus, Joseph Zohar

Psychiatry Unit, Nuclear Medicine Institute and Diagnostic Radiology Dept., Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

The common structural and functional brain imaging techniques are described from a practical, clinical point of view. The clinical indications for brain imaging in psychiatry are reviewed in relation to the specific limitations and advantages of each technique. The clinical applications of computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) are discussed in relation to the differential diagnosis between organic and functional psychiatric disorders. In a 55-year-old man with late onset of behavioral changes but without neurological signs the application of structural brain imaging (CT and MRI) in case management was demonstrated. The imaging findings involved the differential diagnosis between depression and focal brain lesions. In a 38-year-old man with personality changes and depression following a traumatic brain injury, time interval repeated functional brain imaging (SPECT) was used. Brain imaging reflected improvement in clinical status following treatment and was able to differentiate between reversible and permanent traumatic brain injuries. The superior yield of time interval repeated functional imaging in diagnosis and management of postconcussion syndrome is discussed.

Capgras' Syndrome

I. Z. Ben-Zion, K. Levine, A. Shiber

Psychiatry Dept., Soroka Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba

We present 3 cases of Capgras' syndrome- a delusional disorder in which the patient believes that 1 (or more) of his acquaintances has been replaced by an imposter who appears as a double. 2 were schizophrenics and 1 had depression with psychotic features. This syndrome is rare in our practice, but we do not know if this is due to lack of awareness of the condition, or to the possibility that it is a culture-related syndrome. We suggest that although the syndrome has lost some of it's significance, it is still worth making the diagnosis because of the medical and psychological implications this condition carries.