Capgras syndrome in Parkinson’s disease — literature review

Streszczenie

Capgras syndrome (CS) can occur in the course of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). CS is characterized by a delusional belief that people around patients have been replaced by imposters. The aim of this paper is to review current studies on the cases of patients with CS as a result of PD. Also, the proposition of treatment is included. A PubMed search was conducted using the keywords “Capgras syndrome”. “Parkinson’s disease”, “Dementia with Lewy Bodies” and “Misidentification Syndrome”. The search results were confined to articles written in English. Criteria for publications included the number of the patients who formed the study group; however, case reports are also included. In addition, publications had to contain information on the treatment of patients with CS. Numerous studies show the impact of PD on the development of CS. All patients with CS in PD were on levodopa, and some were also taking other dopaminergic drugs. CS can be a rare psychiatric manifestation of PD. Patients with advanced PD are more likely to develop delusions probably because of the long-term use of levodopa. Duplication is an example of delusional misidentification. There is no specific treatment; however, antipsychotic medication and changing the dose of dopaminergic drugs may reduce psychotic symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease psychosis.