TRANSTORNOS DEPRESSIVOS ASSOCIADOS ¿ NEUROCISTICERCOSE

RESUMO - Objetivo: Investigar a ocorrencia e os fatores de risco para morbidade depressiva em uma amostra de38 pacientes ambulatoriais com neurocisticercose. Metodos: O diagnostico psiquiatrico baseou-se nos examesdo estado mental atual e pregresso, respectivamente obtidos pelas entrevistas estruturadas do PSE-9 e SADS-L;as funcoes cognitivas foram avaliadas pelo MMS e pelo roteiro de Strub & Black (Mental Status Examination).Resultados: Transtornos depressivos foram o achado psiquiatrico mais frequente (63,1%) entre os pacientes daamostra. Destes, 20 (52,6%) mostravam-se deprimidos no momento da avaliacao e 4 apresentaram depressao nopassado. Entre os pacientes deprimidos, 16 preencheram criterios diagnosticos do DSM-III-R para transtornoorgânico do humor ( k = 0,4). Antecedentes pessoais de depressao (p = 0,006), sinais de atividade da doenca (p =0,044) e ocorrencia de hipertensao intracraniana (p=0,065) foram os parâmetros clinicos que se correlacionaramcom a presenca de depressao. Conclusoes: Tais achados, aliados a ausencia de predominio do sexo femininoentre os casos de depressao, sugerem etiologia orgânica. Os autores discutem essas observacoes a luz da literaturasobre outros transtornos mentais orgânicos.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: neurocisticercose, transtornos (disturbios) mentais orgânicos, depressao.Depressive disorders associated with neurocysticercosis: prevalence and clinical correlationsABSTRACT - Objective : To determine the frequency and features of psychiatric morbidity in a cross-section of38 outpatients with neurocysticercosis. Methods: Diagnosis of neurocysticercosis was established by CT scan,MRI and CSF analysis. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by using the Present State Examination and the Schedulefor Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia - Lifetime version; cognitive state was assessed by Mini-Mental StateExamination and Strub & Black’s Mental Status Examination. Results: Depression was the most frequentpsychiatric diagnosis (52.6%) as shown by PSE. Active disease and intracranial hypertension were associatedwith higher psychiatric morbidity, and previous history of mood disorders was strongly related to currentdepression. Conclusions: Depression syndromes are frequent in patients with neurocysticercosis. The extent towhich organic mechanisms related to brain lesions may underlie the observed mental changes is yet unclear,though the similar sex distribution of patients with and without depression, as well as the above mentionedcorrelations, provide further evidence of the role played by organic factors in the cause of these syndromes. Theresults of this study are discussed in the light of the data available for other organic psychiatric disorders.KEY WORDS: neurocysticercosis, organic mental disorders, depression.