J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1996; 8:54-59
Copyright © 1996 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Unsuspected multiple sclerosis in patients with psychiatric disorders: a magnetic resonance imaging study
IK Lyoo, HY Seol, HS Byun and PF Renshaw
McLean Brain Imaging Center, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178, USA.
Over a 6-year period, 2,783 subjects, consecutively referred from the
inpatient unit of a private psychiatric hospital, were evaluated with brain
MRI. Twenty-three patients (0.83%) had brain white matter hyperintensities
(WMH) that were highly suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS). The subjects
with WMH consistent with MS were most commonly diagnosed with affective
illness. They had a significantly longer length of hospital stay during the
index admission, a greater number of past psychiatric admissions, a greater
prevalence of brain atrophy, and a history of more frequent neurological
symptoms and signs than those without these findings.
