Eve
Chooster’s
THANK YOU BROTHER RICIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY
A case report published in 2015 in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine has important implications for children (and adults) suffering from neuropsychological disorders. A 13-year-old boy following a lacto-vegetarian diet suddenly stopped talking and exhibited “rigidity, immobility, staring look, disturbed sleep, ideas of worthlessness and hopelessness, aimless wandering, guilt and suicidal ideas.” Some may recognize these symptoms as similar to those of autism.
The report noted that all blood tests, including those for anemia (and a later test for thyroid function), proved normal. The patient was diagnosed with “acute schizophrenia-like psychotic disorder” and treated with a pile of drugs including lorazepam (used to treat anxiety disorders) for three days, then olanzapine (an antipsychotic), sertraline (an antidepressant, commonly known as Zoloft) and aripiprazole (another antipsychotic) for two months.
That’s four strong drugs pumped into this little kid. “[D]espite good adherence,” he relapsed. At first, he became hyper with “suspiciousness, hearing voices, over-talkativeness, over-cheerfulness, inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, increased appetite, increased pleasurable activities, and disruptive socio-education.”
His diagnosis was revised to “schizoaffective disorder, manic type,” and his physician replaced the Zoloft with divalproate sodium (used to treat seizures). Four days later, he returned with worsening of symptoms, and lithium carbonate (for treatment of bipolar disorder) and haloperidol (another antipsychotic) were added to the mix. That’s a total of six drugs in this thirteen-year-old child.
Still, his symptoms continued to worsen and two days later he was readmitted, with yet another revision to his diagnosis. He underwent more tests—including a test for vitamin B-12 levels—which the doctors found to be extremely low at 112ng/mL (the normal range is 180–914 ng/mL). The level of 180 ng/mL is associated with the most severe manifestation of B12 deficiency—pernicious anemia—and in Japan and some European countries, a level of 500–550 ng/mL is associated with psychological and behavioral manifestations such as dementia and memory loss.
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