[Personality change following encephalitis lethargica in childhood. Eventual fate of a patient].
An account is given of a patient who died at the age of sixty. He had no recollection of having had encephalitis as a child. In his schooldays, the patient was subject to severe behavioral disorders which were not susceptible to outside influence. During his military service he was frequently punished for conduct prejudicial to discipline and good order, and at the front he was even sentenced to death, but reprieved. His later life brought him no tranquility, ever new conflicts driving him from one job after another. Breaking into uncontrollable fits of rage, he would psychically attack the people around him, threatening to kill them. He was incapable of controlling his impulses. He spent the second half of his life in institutional care, his extrems impulsiveness being the cause of considerable disruption. Post mortem examination confirmed the encephalitis lethargica he was assumed to have suffered as a child, which was responsible for the typical change of character. It is evident how encephalitis lethargica in childhood sets a lifelong mark on the conduct, with appalling consequences.
Albert
E
E
Psychiatrisches Krankenhaus Eichberg, Eltville/Rhein.
Vitzthum
H G
HG
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D004671:Encephalitis, Arbovirus / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*
Wesensveränderung nach Encephalitis lethargica der Kindheit. Spätschicksal eines Patienten.