Cases That Test Your Skills
Cases That Test Your Skills
After 62 years, her husband is a ‘stranger’
Ms. A, age 83, is increasingly confused and agitated. She attacks caregivers and distrusts her friends at church. The challenge: diagnose her...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Trichotillomania: A heads-up on severe cases
Since childhood, Ms. D has been compulsively pulling out and eating her hair. Multiple surgeries, financial hardships, and social isolation have...
Cases That Test Your Skills
The painful truth about depression
Eight weeks after remission, Ms. F’s depressive symptoms resurface. She’s tired, sleep-deprived, and has trouble functioning at work. Did a recent...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Chemical ‘warfare’ in Philadelphia
Mr. R hears ‘whispers from terrorists’ plotting an attack. He presents severely agitated with vomiting, psychosis, and paranoia. What is your...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Night terrors: a family affair
Sleepwalking and nightmares have troubled Ms. J since childhood. Her “walks” have led to disrupted sleep, a fractured foot, and the threat of...
Cases That Test Your Skills
When a patient threatens terrorism
Mr. Z, an engineering student who works with explosives, says he plans to ‘rid the world of nonbelievers.’ He suffers delusions but repeatedly...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Regression, depression, and the facts of life
A teen with Down syndrome changes schools and suddenly becomes angry and isolative. His developmental skills regress, and he’s talking with...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Beware the men with toupees
Mr. S’ worsening depression and paranoia baffle clinicians. A detailed look at his medical history suggests an illness that is often overlooked in...
Cases That Test Your Skills
When a mother’s love hurts
Ms. J’s life revolves around caring for her sickly 4-year-old daughter. A hospital videotape, however, exposes the mother’s impulsive, abusive...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Psychosis or ‘cultural paranoia?’
Mr. A and Mr. B are treated for depression with psychotic features after exhibiting apparent delusional behaviors. Their cases illustrate how...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Clozapine therapy: Timing is everything
After numerous failed, trials Ms. G’s schizophrenia responds only to clozapine. Her white blood cell count slips dangerously low, but stopping the...