Akinetic parkinsonism and the catatonic syndrome: an overview.

The importance of considering organic diseases when evaluating catatonic patients is illustrated by two cases of akinetic parkinsonism in which the patients became catatonic, with waxy flexibility. The catatonic syndrome occurs in association with a variety of lesions that may affect any level of the central nervous system from the brain stem to the cerebral hemispheres. A review of Parkinson's disease and a critical reappraisal of the catatonic syndrome are presented.