[Acute pharmacotoxic psychoses in patients with chronic cerebral disorders].

269 patients suffering from progredient, chronic either primary or secundary cerebral diseases (Parkinson's disease, cerebral vascular diseases, cerebral atrophic dystrophy, Huntington's chorea, muliple sclerosis have been studied in the last two years. 44 of these patients developed pharmaco-toxic psychoses during drug treatment (low and medium dosis). The psycho-pathological rating resulted in an acute organic brain syndrome with predominance of confusion, sometimes progressing to delirium. EEG was changed during the psychotic stage. These changes cannot be decided from organic psychoses, which are not related to drugs. Patients with Parkinson's disease showed a relatively high incidence to psychoses during drug treatment (51.47%). In patients without Parkinson's disease, but on treatment with antidepressants, neuroleptics, diuretics and digitalis, pharmacotoxic psychoses only could be observed in 4.4% of the patients. However, the same group of patients showed an acute organic brain syndrome in 12.43%, when not on treatment. Combined treatment with L-DOPA plus peripherally acting decarboxylase inhibitors resulted in a high incidence to psychoses in idiopathic Parkinsonism but the same dosis produced this side effect only in a few patients with cerebral atrophic dystrophy. The ratio was 5:1 between the former group and the later one. That means, that L-DOPA is a much more psychotoxic substance in Parkinsonism when compared to other cerebral diseases. These pharmacotoxic psychoses could be correlated with the progredience of the disease. These pharmacotoxic psychoses are not only dependent from age and duration of treatment. Evidence exist, that there might be a correlation between the incidence for pharmacotoxic psychoses and the lack of surviving dopaminergic neurons in the nigro-striatal areas. Treatment with very low doses of neuroleptics suppresses pharmacotoxic psychoses but allow a further anti-Parkinson therapy which is of vital necessity.