title: Antidepressant treatment of pathologic laughing or crying in elderly stroke patients.
abstract: Pathologic laughing or crying (PLC), a complication of many neurologic disorders, involves behavior that is either inappropriate to the context or to the patient's subjective feeling state. It is due to a dysregulation of the motoric components of emotional experience. PLC is distinct from, but often associated with, major depression. The relatively few reports on treatment of PLC are primarily with tricyclic antidepressants. We report the effective treatment of PLC due to stroke in three patients with nortriptyline or fluoxetine. The cases also illustrate the broad spectrum of depressive symptoms (from none to a major depression) seen in patients with PLC. We discuss treatment implications and directions for future research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Panzer
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mellow
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003448:Crying; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007845:Laughter; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009661:Nortriptyline / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine; D009661:Nortriptyline