Botturi Andrea, Silvani Antonio, Pravettoni Gabriella, Paoli Riccardo Augusto, Lucchiari Claudio
Department of Neuro-Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychiatry, Università degli Studi di Milano, Fondazione IRCCS Ca'Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
Department of Neuro-Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy.
Case Rep Neurol. 2016 Jun 6;8(2):115-9. doi: 10.1159/000446643. eCollection 2016 May-Aug.
Neurological and psychiatric conditions frequently overlap in neuro-oncology. This overlapping negatively affects patients' quality of life and decreases the ability of providers to manage specific symptoms by therapy modulation, especially when psychopharmacotherapy needs to be prescribed. We describe here a patient with recurrent brain tumor, symptomatic epilepsy and depression who developed Pisa syndrome and parkinsonism after several months of valproic acid use. An accurate recognition of symptoms and treatment side effect allowed an appropriate clinical approach so as to rapidly improve both movement disorder and depression without increasing the risk of developing seizure. This has improved the autonomy and quality of life in a patient with poor prognosis.