This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

C. Miller Fisher, MD

Arch Neurol. 1989;46(7):798-804.

Abstract
• In an alcoholic patient, catatonia developed while he was receiving disulfiram (Antabuse). Resolution of the question whether his state was classically catatonic required a detailed review of the literature on the subject. The conclusion reached is that the original definition still holds for psychiatric illness, but application of the term to neurological and metabolic states has often been based on imprecise criteria and failure to consider akinetic mutism and extrapyramidal motor disturbances as factors. The action of disulfiram as an inhibitor of dopamine β hydroxylase provides a possible mechanism for the cerebral toxic effect, but nonetheless the various interpretations remain largely speculative.

Author Affiliations
From the Neurology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication February 6, 1989.

Reprint requests to Neurology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 (Dr Fisher).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Differential Mechanisms in the Effects of Disulfiram and Diethyldithiocarbamate Intoxication on Striatal Release and Vesicular Transport of Glutamate
Vaccari et al.
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 1998;285:961-967.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Carbamoylation of Brain Glutamate Receptors by a Disulfiram Metabolite
Nagendra et al.
J. Biol. Chem. 1997;272:24247-24251.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Catatonic stupor after "ecstasy"
Lee
BMJ 1994;308:717-718.
FULL TEXT