Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) presenting at the age of 21 as a schizophrenia-like state with bizarre dysmorphophobic features.

A case is described of a 21-year-old man who, after extensive investigations by the general physicians and neurologists, was transferred to a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of functional illness. The clinical picture at that stage simulated schizophrenia with prominent dysmorphophobic features. A diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis was then made 9 months after the onset.