Catatonia induced by disulfiram

Abstract

Catatonia is a clinical syndrome with varieties of psychomotor abnormalities of retardation and excitement. It can occur both in psychiatric and medical conditions. The aetiology of catatonia has not been fully described. Many researchers suggest that catatonia can occur due to deficiency of cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Disulfiram is an agent that is being used in the treatment of alcohol dependence by its aversive effect. It has been seen that disulfiram is one of the causes of catatonia. This paper aimed to report a case of catatonia induced by disulfiram with no past history of any psychiatric or medical illness.

Keywords

• Alcoholism
• gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
• Benzodiazepines
• Motivation
• Adverse Drug Reaction