Affective disorders and catatonia: Report of two cases

Catatonia refers to a broad group of movement abnormalities usually associated with schizophrenia, but also found in other disorders such as mania, depression, many neurological disorders (especially those involving the basal ganglia, limbic system, diencephalon, and frontal lobes), systemic metabolic disorders, and toxic drug states. Catatonia is often neglected when screening and examining psychiatric patients. Undiagnosed catatonia can increase morbidity and mortality, illustrating the need to effectively screen patients for presence of catatonia, as well as their response to treatment. We describe the clinical presentation of catatonia in a 32 year-old woman with schizoaffective disorder and in a 25 year-old woman with severe psychotic depression.