Multiple Sclerosis and Schizophrenia: A Case Report

Abstract

In the borderland between psychiatry and neurology the clinician occasionally encounters patients with diseases which challenge diagnostic skills and treatment methods. A case is presented in which the coexistence of multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia raises essential questions about the relationship of mind and brain. A young woman with multiple sclerosis developed a clinical picture of schizophrenia in the initial stages of her disease. During sodium amobarbital interviews the patient's mental functioning cleared temporarily, although tranquilizers failed to control disruptive behavior. Electroconvulsive therapy was administered with dramatic improvement of her psychiatric disorder and no worsening of her neurological disease. In the seven years since recovery she has married and raised two healthy children without recurrence of either neurological or psychiatric disorder. While no cause-and-effect relationship can be defined, such cases emphasize the need for further studies of the relationship of central nervous system disease to psychiatric disorder.