Movement Disorder
Movement Disorder
Structure
Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome that usually occurs in primary psychiatric disorder. Neglect of this condition normally occur during screening and, when examining patients who are psychiatric. Catatonia that is not diagnosed can increase mortality and morbidity; thus, the need to screen patients early so that to prescribe treatment (Ahuja, N et al 2007). It is a state of apparent unresponsiveness to the external stimuli to someone who is awake. This is not diagnosis; however it is a descriptive term for something already observed in a range of disorders. Some of the complications associated with catatonia include trauma, when excited, catatonia patients may cause fatal injuries to themselves. They also tend to refuse to eat hence resulting to death. Therefore, parenteral nutrition and fluids should be administered. Some other complications include autonomic instability, pulmonary embolism, and neuroleptic embolism (Ahuja, N et al 2007). This condition can be present in people who are experiencing emotional and physical conditions like depression, drug intoxication, and schizophrenia. This is a disorder that commonly associated with mood disorder.
Neurotransmitter system
This condition usually caused by irregularities in the production of the neurotransmitters in the brain. These are chemicals that usually conduct the impulses in nerves from one nerve cell to another. The most essential neurotransmitters associated with depression are serotonin and norepinephrine. Dopamine is also a neurotransmitter that plays the role in development of depressive conditions (Rajagopal, S 2007). Catatonia also understood to be caused by abnormalities in the dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate neurotransmitter systems.
Treatment
The treatment of the catatonic system usually depends with the underlying cause. Catatonic schizophrenia normally treated by range psychotherapeutic and pharmacological methods. It might be necessary for hospitalization so that to protect the safety of the patient. Family education and supportive psychotherapy is necessary to help people with schizophrenia and also their families to adjust to the problem created by the illness (Rajagopal, S 2007). Other supportive services that may be significant include sheltered workshops and individual education.Timely treatment during the early phases of the condition is necessary so that to get a lasting abatement of the symptoms. Conditions that are treatable should be identified. Encephalitis, acute psychosis, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and non convulsive status epileptics should be diagnosed and treated (Rajagopal, S 2007).
Because of the risks of the complication, admission to ICU is the best treatment for those patients suffering from the condition of catatonia. The ICU is the appropriate location for monitoring the patient until the symptoms improve so that the patient can be transferred to a less restricted setting. During the treatment of the disorder, supervised activity usually recommended. Timely intervention needed to prevent the patient from collapsing because of exhaustion.The future direction for the treatment of this condition requires that the treatment should be done on its own right. This should not depend on the underlying disorder. It recommended that physicians should be providing treatment to the disorder based on the features of the condition rather than the underlying disorder (Ahuja, N et al 2007). Because catatonia is a movement disorder and a neuropsychiatric syndrome; therefore, the rating scale is similar to the examination of the movement disorder. The rating scale should be able to detect the patient who exhibit catatonia and then identify the catatonic signs reliably.
Reference
Ahuja, N Lee, J & Kirkhart, R (2007). The detection and measurement of catatonia Psychiatry4 (9)
Rajagopal, S (2007). Catatonia Advances in psychiatric treatment 13
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