Recurrent depressive illness or craniopharyngioma: a diagnostic dilemma.
BACKGROUND
Brain tumors have been associated with various psychiatric and neurological manifestations. However in some patients with brain tumors psychiatric symptom might be the only clinical presentation for various lengths of time. As such they would be treated as straight forward psychiatric disorders.


OBJECTIVE
To report a case of craniopharyngioma presenting as recurrent depressive illness in a 42 years old man.


METHODS
Clinical follow up of a patient presenting with recurrent depressive illness till death


RESULTS
recurrent severe depressive illness in the absence of focal neurological deficit that is unresponsive to anti-depressant might be due to intracranial neoplasm.


CONCLUSIONS
Brain tumors can sometime present as psychiatric disorders and be difficult to detect in the absences of focal neurological deficit and Neuro-imaging studies.
Department of Psychiatry, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika- Zaria.
A J
AJ
Yusuf
M R
MR
Mahmud
P O
PO
Ibinaiye
A A
AA
Liman
D000328:Adult; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*