Ekbom syndrome, also called delusional parasitosis, is a psychiatric disorder characterized by the patient’s conviction that he or she is infested with parasites. Patients with Ekbom syndrome usually seek care from family physicians. We report a case in which the diagnosis of Ekbom syndrome was delayed owing to the presence of bits of spiders in the first sample the patient provided of the inse...

Ekbom Syndrome is synonymous with delusory parasitosis, a belief that one's body is infested by invisible bugs. Persons suffering from this syndrome often claim to feel dermal sensations and to visualize the bugs, although no one else can see them. Ekbom Syndrome is a delusional condition; it is intractable and cannot be corrected by argument or evidence. Ekbom Syndrome sufferers exhibit a rang...

conclusions delusional infestation or parasitosis may be detected in context and secondary to schizophrenia with nihilistic delusion and may create a high degree of suffering for patients, ultimately cause mortality, because of threatening behaviors toward the self. introduction delusions of parasitosis or ekbom syndrome are a psychotic disorder that causes a patient to suffer from the substant...

BACKGROUND Ekbom syndrome is a rare psychiatric disorder that can manifest as a delusion, overvalued idea or hallucination of parasitic infestations. It is more prevalent in postmenopausal women and patients are usually seeking dermatology rather than psychiatry consultation for their symptoms. CASE PRESENTATION We present a case of Ekbom syndrome associated with recurrent depressive disorder...

The false and fixed belief of being infected/infested by one or many different living organisms, such as insects or parasites, is not a common condition. Although several cases have been recorded since the end of the nineteenth century, it was the Swedish psychiatrist Karl-Axel Ekbom who first systematically studied the presenile syndrome of delusional dermatozoid parasitic infestation in 1938 ...

The first description of the restless legs syndrome (RLS) is attributed to Thomas Willis in the 'London Practice of Physick' of 1685 (Ekbom, 1960). Here he wrote 'wherefore to some, when being a bed they betake themselves to sleep, presently in the arms and leggs, leapings and contractions of their tendons, and so great a restlessness and tossings of their members ensue, that the diseased are n...

References 1. Ekbom K, Lindholm H, Ljungberg L: New dystonic syndrome associated with butyrophenone therapy. Z Neurol 1972; 202: 94–103 2. Yassa R, Nastase C, Cvejic J, Laberge G: The Pisa syndrome (or pleurothotonus): prevalence in a psychogeriatric population. Biol Psychiatry 1991; 29:942–945 3. Duggal HS, Sivamony S, Umapathy C: Pisa syndrome and atypical antipsychotics (letter). Am J Psychi...