A CASE OF ORGANIC OTHELLO'S SYNDROME

The Othellos syndrome or delusion of infidelity occurs as a part of many psychiatric disorders but has rarely been described following a cerebrovascular event. It was most frequently associated with an organic etiology in elderly age group. We report a case of an organic delusional disorder (delusional jealousy) in an elderly male after a silent infarct of the striatal structures. We describe the clinical symptoms, signs, course of illness and report the neuroimaging findings and neuropsychological testing. Earlier researches have exposed the critical role of right hemisphere lesions, especially of the striatal region in the development of delusional psychosis. The importance of other biological or psychosocial factors such as sensory impairment, sexual dysfunction, dependence on caregivers and social isolation for the development of paranoid states in the elderly has also been stressed in literature. This has been observed in our patient. Personality and psychological factors were supposed to shape the content of the delusions in individuals with an underlying organic pathology.