[The clinical position of catatonia].

Revising the principal historical and clinical data available allows catatonia to be considered a kind of brain reaction unrelated to schizophrenia in restricted sense--i.e. to dementia praecox. Owing to the probabilities there are that malignant manifestations be developed, it is the author's opinion that it should be included into general medicine instead. Many cases including several catatonic attacks do not follow the usual course of dementia praecox. Moreover, true catatonic attacks frequency is quite low in chronic schizophrenia known as "catatonic schizophrenia". Thus, it seems necessary that relationships between catatonia, and spasmodic hysterical and epileptic symptoms be reevaluated accordingly. Electroconvulsive therapy is a very useful treatment, not only in simple catatonia attacks (which is a well-known application) but also on different malignant manifestations likely to arise during attacks.