Delusional misidentification syndrome and other unusual delusions in advanced Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Background: Unusual delusional syndromes are rare protean diseases with speculative etiopathogenic mechanisms.

Methods: Seven consecutive patients with advanced PD were evaluated over a 15-year period at the Movement Disorders Unit in the Neurology Service, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, and the Paraná State Parkinson's Patients Association.

Results: We describe advanced Parkinson's disease patients presenting with unusual delusional syndromes, including cases of Ekbom, Othello, Capgras' and Diogenes syndromes, reduplicative paramnesia and mirrored-self misidentification.

Conclusion: There are a few isolated reports of unusual neuropsychiatric disorders in patients with PD. We believe that these syndromes associated with advanced PD in elderly patients presenting with cognitive impairment and polypharmacy are probably often underestimated. Neurologists should be aware for these rare and treatable conditions.