Persistent interferon-β-1b-induced psychosis in a patient with multiple sclerosis.

Manfredi, Giovanni; Kotzalidis, Giorgio D.; Sani, Gabriele; Koukopoulos, Alexia E.; Savoja, Valeria; Lazanio, Simone; Girardi, Nicoletta; Tatarelli, Roberto

Interferon-β is used in patients with multiple sclerosis to reduce autoimmunity; although other psychiatric side-effects are common, in contrast to interferon-alpha, psychosis has been reported only once. A patient with multiple sclerosis developed auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and increased aggressiveness after 16 months of treatment with interferon-β-1b, 250 µg every other day. He responded after about one month to antipsychotic treatment, but tended to relapse upon dose reduction, and after 2 years still needs antipsychotics to control his symptoms. Because there was no change in his magnetic resonance imaging between pre- and post-treatment with interferon, we concluded that psychosis was more related to interferon treatment than to the underlying disease.

INTERFERONS; PSYCHOSES; MULTIPLE sclerosis; DELUSIONS; ANTIPSYCHOTIC agents; THERAPEUTICS

Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, 2010, Vol 64, Issue 5, p584

1323-1316

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02122.x