Involutional melancholia

Involutional melancholia

Involutional melancholia or involutional depression is a traditional name for a psychiatric disorder affecting mainly elderly or late middle-aged people, usually accompanied with paranoia. It is classically defined as 'depression of gradual onset occurring during the involutional years (40-55 in women and 50-65 in men), with symptoms of marked anxiety, agitation, restlessness, somatic concerns, hypochondriasis, occasional somatic or nihilistic delusions, insomnia, anorexia, and weight loss. [Brown RP et al. Involutional melancholia Revisisted, "Am J Psychiatry" 141;1, January 1984 ]

Literature review

Emil Kraepelin (1907) was the first to describe Involutional melancholia as a distinct clinical entity separate from the manic-depressive psychosis. Dreyfus (1907) challenged his concepts of origin and he thought it to be endogenous in origin. Kirby (1909) described it as a distinctive syndrome, as did Hoch and MacCurdy in 1922. Titley (1936) described the premorbid personality and narrow range of interests, etc., Kallman (1959) found incidence of schizophrenia in the families of such patients.

Characteristic symptoms

*Previous illness of depressive conditions
*Symptoms of fear
*Despondency and hypochondriacal delusions
*Late onset of the disorder
*Prolonged course with poor prognosis and/or deterioration

Etiology

It was first thought to be of acquired conditions till as early as 1907, when Dreyfus challenged it to be of endogenous origin after studying 85 of Kraepelin's original patients.

Treatments

Involutional melancholia is classically treated with antidepressants and mood elevators.

References


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  • involutional melancholia — noun or involutional psychosis : an agitated depression occurring at the time of the menopause or climacteric and usually characterized by somatic and nihilistic delusions * * * Psychiatry. (formerly) extreme depression related to menopause or,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • involutional melancholia — Psychiatry. (formerly) extreme depression related to menopause or, less frequently, the male climacteric. [1905 10] * * * …   Universalium

  • Melancholia —    As a term used in medicine since the ancient Greeks, melancholia had two core elements of meaning, neither specifically referring to sad forms of depression: (1) All mental affections in which mood, drive, and intellectual function were… …   Historical dictionary of Psychiatry

  • involutional — Relating to involution. * * * in·vo·lu·tion·al .in və lüsh nəl, ən əl adj 1) of or relating to involutional melancholia <involutional depression> 2) of or relating to the climacterium and its associated bodily and psychic changes <the… …   Medical dictionary

  • involutional — I. |invə|lüshənəl, shnəl also vəl|yü adjective Etymology: involution + al 1. : of or relating to involutional melancholia involutional depression 2. : of or relating to the climacterium and its associated bodily and psychic changes mental hygiene …   Useful english dictionary

  • involutional — /in veuh looh sheuh nl/, adj. 1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of involutional melancholia: involutional symptoms. n. 2. a person who suffers from involutional melancholia. [1905 10; INVOLUTION + AL1] * * * …   Universalium

  • involutional psychosis — noun see involutional melancholia * * * involutional psychosis or involutional melancholia noun A psychosis occurring in middle life, with feelings of anxiety, futility, guilt, and, in some cases, with delusions of persecution • • • Main Entry:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • melancholia — 1. A severe form of depression marked by anhedonia, insomnia, psychomotor changes, and guilt. 2. A symptom occurring in other conditions, marked by depression of spirits and by a sluggish and painful process of thought. SYN: melancholy. [melan +… …   Medical dictionary

  • Меланхолия Инволюционная (Involutional Melancholia) — сильная депрессия, обычного связанная с каким либо нарушением психики, впервые появляющаяся во время инволюционного периода у взрослых людей (примерно в 40 55 лет у женщин и в 50 65 лет у мужчин). Данное заболевание имеет такие характерные… …   Медицинские термины

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