Catatonia in the Structure of Affective and Schizoaffective Disorders of the Postpartum Period

Abstract

Background: аt the present stage of psychiatry, within the framework of the dimensional paradigm, catatonia is considered as a transnosological entity that manifests within the clinical space of various affective and schizoaffective disorders. In the 21st century studies, devoted to the analysis of motor disorders that appear in the clinical space of postpartum affective and schizoaffective disorders, become increasingly relevant (J.Y. Lai, T.L. Huang, 2004; A. Nahar and et al., 2017; C. Kamau, 2017; L. Csihi and et al., 2022). However, research on this issue is very limited. The objective: the analysis of catatonic phenomenon, manifesting in the postpartum period, based on the observations of three clinical cases.Patients and methods: 3 clinical cases of patients, undergoing treatment in the clinical department of the FSBSI “Mental Health Research Centre” with established diagnoses of bipolar affective disorder (ICD-10: F31.1; 1 case) and schizoaffective disorder (ICD-10: F25.2; 2 cases) with a predominance of motor disorders in the clinical picture of the disease. The main method was clinical with the use of psychological examination and data from instrumental (EEG) diagnostics.Results: movement disorders registered in the structure of apathoanesthetic depressions within the exacerbation of bipolar affective disorder are represented by the phenomena of hypokinetic catatonia and act as an amplifier of affective disorders. Catatonic symptoms within the clinical space of schizoaffective disorders, are limited by manifestations of parakinetic catatonia, do not have a direct correlation with the structure and severity of affective disorders, and indicate an increase in the progredient endogenous process.Conclusion: the analysis of clinical observations testifies in favor of the heterogeneity of affective-catatonic states not only in terms of the structure of motor phenomena, but also in terms of the psychopathological profile of affective disorders.