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Biomedical subjects

D N Mendhekar

Publications and source records attributed to D N Mendhekar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Aripiprazole use in a pregnant schizoaffective woman.

BACKGROUND: There are few or no clinical data on the safety of aripiprazole during pregnancy and lactation. CASE REPORT: A 27-year-old schizoaffective woman conceived while receiving aripiprazole 15 mg/day. The drug was withdrawn during the eighth week of gestation. She relapsed at week 20, and resumed treatment with the drug at a dose of 10 mg/day. She responded well, and the drug was continued through the rest of the pregnancy. The pregnancy was uneventful, but unexplained fetal tachycardia necessitated a cesarean section at full term. The newborn infant was normal in all regards and developed normally during a 6-month follow up. The infant required to be bottle-fed because of a failure of lactation. CONCLUSION: In this case, exposure to aripiprazole during different trimesters of pregnancy was not associated with intrauterine death, morphological teratogenicity, impaired fetal growth, neonatal toxicity, or neurobehavioral teratogenicity. Maternal health was not adversely affected during pregnancy. However, lactation failure occurred after delivery.

Adult↗

Recurrent postictal depression with Cotard delusion.

Depression is a common occurrence among epileptic patients and constitutes, along with anxiety disorders, the most frequent psychiatric condition in these patients. However, little work is done in the area of post-ictal depression especially in children with epilepsy. Here, the authors report an adolescent boy who developed recurrent depression associated with Cotard's delusion following complex partial seizure at the age of 7 years. Trial of antidepressant drug and lithium worsened the clinical picture but ultimately he responded well to carbamazepine. This case is unique in its presentation due to recurrent depression itself is rare at this age and secondly rarity of onset of Cotard delusion in prepubertal phase. This case also showed that post-ictal depression is biological process rather than psychological and social reaction. Prompt identification and management of underlying cause would definitely prevent further complication and would also prevent the child from exposing unnecessary with various pharmacological treatments.

Adolescent↗

Pathological laughter as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon.

METHOD: Pathological laughter has been known to occur in organic and functional psychotic disorders and is sometimes seen in hysteria. Though it is an important phenomenon, its significance in other psychiatric disorders has been negligible. This case report highlights the phenomenology of pathological laughter as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon in an adolescent girl. RESULTS: The girl was brought by her parents with a history of laughing without reason, but on detail evaluation, it was found that her laughing was an irrational and ego-dystonic phenomenon. She also showed resistance to her symptom. A family history of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the parental grandfather, the habit of smiling in her father and her childhood emotional trauma and sexual abuse could have contributed to the formation of the symptom. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs and behavior therapy showed good improvement in this case. DISCUSSION: Pathological laughter, though common in organic and psychotic disorders, can present primarily as an obsessive-compulsive phenomenon as well. This case suggests that each and every patient with a history of pathological laughter in a psychiatry clinic should not be labeled as psychotic unless he or she is assessed in detail.

Adolescent↗