Case Reports in Psychiatry
August 13, 2021
Sulochana Joshi, Anusha Manandhar, Pawan Sharma
10 citations
Meditation can trigger acute and transient psychosis in vulnerable individuals, as illustrated by a 33-year-old male patient who experienced two separate psychotic episodes following meditation. While meditation is generally beneficial for mental health and emotional regulation, negative effects such as meditation-induced psychosis have been documented. This case highlights meditation as a possible precipitating factor for psychosis.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
April 26, 2022
Jeremy Weleff, Kelly A. Bryant, Alexsandra Kovacevich et al.
5 citations
A 28-year-old man with multiple psychiatric and medical conditions died approximately four days after his seventh ketamine infusion for treatment-resistant depression. His depression and suicidality briefly remitted after ketamine but were short-lived. The cause of death was either suicide or accidental autoerotic asphyxiation; the authors consider suicide more likely given his history of severe suicidality, past suicide attempts, and family history of suicide. The case highlights gaps in understanding suicide-related risks of subanesthetic intravenous ketamine treatment for mood disorders and suicidality.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
January 1, 2024
Richard C. J. Bradlow, Sophie Wright, Anamaria Szrajbman Vaz da Silva et al.
3 citations
A 21-year-old Indigenous Australian man developed psychosis after switching from illicit cannabis to prescribed medical cannabis, experiencing delusions that his partner was unfaithful (Othello delusions), becoming violent toward her, and attempting suicide. Cannabis use, whether prescribed or illicit, is linked to psychotic illness and elevated risk of cannabis use disorder. Prescribers should screen for risk factors like family history of psychosis, monitor patients regularly, and provide harm reduction advice. The authors call for stricter regulation of medical cannabis prescribing in Australia.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
January 1, 2025
Alok Atreya, Sabbu Maharjan, Samata Nepal et al.
1 citation
A 30-year-old woman in rural Nepal experienced acute episodes of altered consciousness, religious chanting, and deity-associated behavior, likely influenced by local beliefs in divine possession. Similar symptoms occurred in a family member, and she first sought help from traditional healers before psychiatric care. Medical tests were normal. The condition, understood as a possession state involving substitution of personality by a spirit or deity, responded well to combined medication and supportive psychotherapy during a brief hospital stay. The case underscores the need for cultural competence in forensic psychiatric evaluations in Nepal and highlights challenges in applying mental health legislation within traditional cultural settings.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
January 1, 2026
Ridhi J. Vyas, Ryan Hood, Jeremy Hsiang et al.
A 31-year-old woman with chronic PTSD and a history of childhood compulsions developed new-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after undergoing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA-AP) in a clinical trial. Her PTSD had been resistant to multiple medications, and she reported significant improvements in flashbacks and suicidal ideation after the first session. Following a delayed second session, she experienced intrusive guilt, scrupulosity, and compulsive urges to confess, leading to a DSM-5 diagnosis of OCD. OCD symptoms persisted for over a year, with a Y-BOCS score of 17 indicating moderate severity, and improved with escitalopram. This case suggests that MDMA-AP may trigger obsessive-compulsive pathology in individuals with complex trauma and prior obsessive-compulsive tendencies, possibly through serotonergic effects on frontostriatal circuits, and highlights the need for screening and long-term monitoring in such protocols.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
January 1, 2024
Jai Ahuja, Luba Leontieva
A 75-year-old woman with treatment-resistant depression experienced an unexpected increase in suicidal ideation after ketamine infusion therapy. Although ketamine is known to effectively treat depression and acute suicidality, this patient's condition worsened. Her complex background included psychosocial stressors, a genetic predisposition to depression, and personality traits that may have influenced her response. The case highlights the need for cautious administration of ketamine, particularly in patients with personality disorders, and underscores the importance of individualized treatment plans in mental health care.
Case Reports in Psychiatry
January 29, 2017
Joan M. Striebel, E. Nelson, Raj K. Kalapatapu
A US veteran with PTSD and heavy polysubstance use self-injected high doses of methoxetamine (MXE), a ketamine analogue, for its calming effect. MXE is a designer drug widely available online and not detected by routine urine screens. Because of MXE's structural similarity to ketamine and evidence that ketamine reduces PTSD symptoms, the authors hypothesize that MXE alleviated the veteran's PTSD through NMDA receptor action and influences on BDNF. This is the first reported case of self-reported MXE use in a US veteran. Greater awareness of designer drugs is needed to engage patients in addiction treatment in both military and civilian settings.