title: Mirtazapine improves visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: a case report.
abstract: Psychotic symptoms often occur as a complication in Parkinson's disease patients, and a set of criteria for Parkinson's disease with psychosis (PDPsy) has been established. Among these criteria, hallucinations are one of the specific symptoms, with visual hallucinations being the most common. While atypical antipsychotic agents are often used for the treatment of PDPsy, adverse effects, including extrapyramidal symptoms, often hinder its continuation or tolerance. There have been some reports and reviews indicating that antidepressants may be effective for PDPsy and other forms of dementia with psychosis. In this report, we present a patient with PDPsy who was treated with one of the new-generation antidepressants, mirtazapine. Mirtazapine improved the patient's refractory psychotic symptoms, especially her visual hallucinations, without worsening her motor symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. k-tagai@jikei.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tagai
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Shunichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinagawa
authors.forename: Norifumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuno
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozone
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakayama
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008803:Mianserin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000078785:Mirtazapine; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D008803:Mianserin; D000078785:Mirtazapine
keywords: Lewy bodies; Parkinson's disease; mirtazapine; psychosis; visual hallucinations