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KMID : 0960920020010020138
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Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
2002 Volume.1 No. 2 p.138 ~ p.142
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Three Cases of Capgras’ Syndrome in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
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Kang Sue-Jin
Jeong Yong
Chin Ju-Hee
Yoon Soo-Jin
Na Duk-Lyul
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Abstract
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Capgras’ syndrome, one form of the delusional misidentification syndromes, is the delusional belief in the existence of ‘doubles’ or ‘impostors’ of significant people in a patient’s life. Capgras’ syndrome has been considered to be associated
with psychiatric disorders other than dementia.. However, many recent studies have reported that this syndrome emerges frequently during the course of organic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Despite numerous reports about Capgras’ syndrome, there have been only two case reports in Korea, in which Capgras’ syndrome was caused by non-Alzheimer’s disease. We described detailed history of three patients with Capgras’ syndrome associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These three patients were in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (CDR 1 or CDR 0.5) when they showed Capgras’ syndrome. Target people for the delusional misbelief in all three patients were the spouses who were believed as ‘a thief’ or ‘a stranger’ in case 1; ‘a stranger’ in case 2; ‘a mother or a father’ in case 3. Two of the three patients also had negative emotion toward their husbands. Capgras’ syndrome in our cases was accompanied by other behavior disturbances that included delusion of ‘one’s house not being one’s home’, paranoid delusion, and aggressiveness. In case 1, Capgras’ syndrome disappeared spontaneously one year later. In contrast, in case 2 and 3, Capgras’ syndrome persisted for three years and two years respectively, despite treatment with olanzapine. Our detailed description of the patients’ symptoms and their caregivers’ response verbatim would help Korean clinicians to manage the patients with Capgras’ syndrome and to educate their caregivers.
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KEYWORD
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Capgras’ syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease
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