Williams syndrome and psychosis: A case report

Abstract

Introduction. Mental comorbidities, such as phobia, obsessive compulsive symptoms and anxiety disorders, are common in Williams syndrome. However, psychotic symptoms are rare in these patients. We report a case of psychosis in a patient with Williams syndrome. Case presentation. A 23-year-old Caucasian woman with Williams syndrome arrived at the emergency room with persecutory delusions, auditory and verbal hallucinations, soliloquies and psychomotor agitation. These symptoms were consistently present for 2 months. No evidence of other medical illnesses or psychoactive substances was found. There was no evidence of prior psychiatric symptoms or family history of psychiatric or neurological disorders. She was treated with antipsychotics and her symptoms were resolved. Conclusion: We describe a rare case of a patient with Williams syndrome who experienced a nonorganic psychotic episode. Literature on this topic is scarce and, therefore, this case report intends to add further data about this comorbidity. © 2014 Salgado and Martins-Correia; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.