This week offers insight into the link between multiple autoimmune diseases and dementia, a rare case of incubus syndrome, and new hope for catatonia patients.
Immunosuppressants Might Offer Some Protection
A new, sweeping study out of Taiwan found that several autoimmune diseases drive up the risk of dementia, particularly vascular dementia. The findings serve to (again) highlight the role of chronic inflammation in cognitive decline.
Published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the researchers looked at data on more than 4 million adults 55 and older, including 634,563 dementia cases recorded between 2010 and 2021 in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) database.
The analysis revealed that – compared to controls – individuals with autoimmune diseases were much more likely to develop dementia (10.5% vs. 8.7%).
The study’s authors found that 13 autoimmune diseases showed significant links, led by Behçet disease, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and pernicious anemia. These connections appeared to be much stronger for vascular dementia than for Alzheimer’s disease, hinting at inflammation-related damage to cerebral blood vessels and the blood–brain barrier.
Women overall seemed to display a slightly elevated dementia risk than men. Even so, sex didn’t modify disease-specific associations. Notably, long-term use of immunosuppressants (persisting longer than 180 days) seemed to neutralize the increased dementia risk seen in autoimmune patients, while NSAIDs and corticosteroids didn’t.
The study’s authors also estimate that effective prevention or management of autoimmune diseases could curb dementia incidence by 0.8% at the population level. Consequently, they conclude their paper with a call for more research into whether targeting systemic inflammation can meaningfully lower dementia risk.
IN OTHER PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY NEWS
- A new case report in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders discusses a man who developed incubus syndrome, experiencing sexual hallucinations during alcohol withdrawal.
- A JCP systematic review found that (es)ketamine rapidly relieved catatonia symptoms in all reported cases, offering a promising alternative to legacy treatments.
- Another PCC case study recounts the story of a woman with multiple sclerosis and opioid use disorder who found relief from trigeminal neuralgia after switching to buprenorphine/naloxone.
- JCP also reports this week that, in a 12-week randomized trial, brexpiprazole reduced substance craving, use, and spending while improving quality of life in patients with schizophrenia and co-occurring substance use disorder.
- And, last but not least, new original research into a possible link between immediate postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression.
