objectives: to report a case of somatoform disorder (not otherwise specified-nos). methods: the patient was an eight-year-old boy who complained of anxiety and seeing visual hallucinations of colorful shapes. he was administered ant migraine and antiepileptic drugs. however, no changes were observed. psychotherapy was started, as well as fluoxetine (20 mg per day). initial assessments included ...

Background and Objectives: There is increasing interest in the issue of demoralization, particularly in the setting of medical disease. The aim of this investigation was to use both DSM-IV comorbidity and the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) in order to characterize demoralization in the medically ill. Methods: 1700 patients were recruited from 8 medical centers in the Ital...

abstract explaining the etiology of complex regional pain syndrome (crps) from the psychogenic model is exceedingly unsophisticated, because neurocognitive deficits, neuroanatomical abnormalities, and distortions in cognitive mapping are features of crps pathology. more importantly, many people who have developed crps have no history of mental illness. the psychogenic model offers comfort to ph...

Idiopathic chronic pain conditions with a mismatch between anatomical abnormalities and symptoms can be categorized as somatoform pain disorder according to the DSM-IV criteria. A dysfunction of pain processing circuits has been suggested as one underlying pathophysiological factor. There is accumulating evidence for a crucial role of affect regulating brain structures such as the medial fronta...

Patients with somatoform disorders can be significantly impacted by the condition and there is often comorbid depression anxiety. In cases that are treatment resistant, disorder persisting despite intensive psychological input numerous psychotropic medications, use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been considered a possible option. Here, authors report case such patient who responded to E...

BACKGROUND Munchausen's syndrome by proxy (recently renamed fabricated or induced illness) is a rare form of child abuse, but relatively little is known about the psychopathology of the perpetrators. AIMS To examine the medical, psychiatric, social work and forensic records of mothers referred for detailed psychiatric assessment from 1996 to 2009. METHOD Twenty-eight consecutive individuals...

OBJECTIVE This paper reviews the published literature on the pharmacologic management of somatoform disorders. METHODS Using Medline, the author identified all articles published between 1970 and 2003 on this topic, selecting the best-designed studies for inclusion. RESULTS The review reveals that patients with the obsessional cluster of somatoform disorders (hypochondriasis and body dysmor...