Treatment of pathological affect: variability of response for laughter and crying.
Pathological laughing and crying (PLC) is increasingly recognized to accompany diverse neurologic conditions, although it remains poorly understood. The authors describe 3 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with an unusual change from a predominance of pathological crying to laughter following drug treatment. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are discussed.
McCullagh
S
S
University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Hospital Site, Ontario, Canada.
Feinstein
A
A
D000368:Aged; D003448:Crying; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007845:Laughter; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D005473:Fluoxetine; D020280:Sertraline