Psychiatric Symptoms in Stiff-Person Syndrome: A Systematic Review and a Report of Two Cases

Abstract

Background: The clinical spectrum of stiff-person syndrome (SPS) encompasses a wide range of signs including psychiatric symptoms (PS).

Objective: Our objective was to provide an overview of the spectrum of PS in SPS through a systematic literature search and 2 illustrative case reports.

Methods: We reported 2 anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase-positive SPS cases that presented with phobic disorder, and we performed a systematic review by following the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles published in PubMed, MEDLINE on Ovid, Embase, and via a manual search before October 20, 2020, were selected by 2 independent reviewers. Original studies, case reports, editorials, commentaries, and letters to the editor reporting cases of SPS with PS were all included. Conference abstracts, reviews and book chapters, unavailable articles, and those not reporting SPS cases or PS were excluded. Quantitative summary data were calculated.

Results: In addition to our 2 cases, we identified 237 cases of SPS with PS from 74 additional included publications totaling 239 patients. Anxiety (56%) and depression (45%) were the most common PS in SPS. Mean diagnostic delay was 4.7 years. Among the 3 SPS phenotypes, the classic form was predominant (77%), followed by stiff-limb syndrome (13%) and progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (10%). The most frequent etiology of SPS with PS was autoimmune (90%), followed by cryptogenic (7%) and paraneoplastic forms (7%). These patients were mainly treated with immune-mediated therapies and GABAergic drugs.

Conclusions: Our review revealed that the most common PS of SPS are anxiety and depression occurring mostly in autoimmune and classic forms, allowing a clearer understanding of this entity, which may lead to earlier diagnosis and better outcome.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; glutamic acid decarboxylase; phobia; psychiatric disorders; stiff-person syndrome.