Basal ganglia calcification and psychosis in mongolism.
An 18-year-old mongoloid girl (trisomy 21) of Asian descent presented two symptoms rarely associated with mongolism (Down's syndrome). (1) Brain stem calcification; the first case diagnosed in vivo in mongolism on computerized axial tomography. (2) Hallucinatory psychotic depression; the first case successfully treated, to full recovery from the psychosis, in a mongoloid child with known brain stem calcification. The psychotic depression was related to moderate environmental stress. While being treated in her parent's home, in their native land, for more than 1 year, the psychosis remained unresponsive to tranquilizers. Following hospital admission in the USA, rapid improvement was obtained within a few weeks through intensive milieu therapy.
D000293:Adolescent; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001933:Brain Stem; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008884:Milieu Therapy; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed