[Catatonia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome in view of a psychopathological and pathophysiological overlap: a brief review].

Catatonia was first described in the 19th century as a syndrome with motor, affective and behavioral symptoms. During the 20th century it was rather regarded as a rare motoric manifestation of schizophrenia and that classification has almost resulted in the disappearance of catatonia among patients outside of the schizophrenia spectrum. With the introduction of neuroleptics, the incidence of catatonic schizophrenia also declined which was attributed to effective treatment. Simultaneously, neuroleptic malignant syndrome was described, which shows many similarities with catatonia. Recently, several researchers suggested a common origin of the two disorders. In this paper we review case reports of the last five years, in which both neuroleptic malignant syndrome and catatonia had emerged as a diagnosis. Additionally, based on the relevant literature, we propose a common hypothetical pathomechanism with therapeutic implications for the two syndromes. Besides underlining the difficulties of differential diagnosis, the reviewed cases demonstrate a transition between the two illnesses. The similarities and the possible shifts may suggest a neuropathological and pathophysiological overlap in the background of the two syndromes. Electroconvulsive therapy and benzodiazepines seem to be an effective treatment in both syndromes. These two treatment approaches can be highly valuable in clinical practice, especially if one considers the difficulties of differential diagnosis.