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Capgras' Syndrome Presenting with Violence Following Heavy Drinking

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Anne E. Thompson  and
Marion Swan
Anne E. Thompson*
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Family Psychiatry, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE9 6SX
Marion Swan
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, St Luke's Hospital, Marton Road, Middlesborough, Cleveland TS4 3AF
*
∗Dr A. Thompson, Senior Registrar in Child Psychiatry, Fleming Nuffield Unit, Burdon Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3AE
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Abstract

Two cases of Capgras' syndrome are described in which patients committed serious acts of violence towards famly members who had become the subject of delusional misidentification. The cases illustrate some typical features of Capgras' syndrome including its potential for dangerousness. Intoxication with alcohol is proposed as a precipitant for violence in these patients.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 162 , Issue 5 , May 1993 , pp. 692 - 694
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1993 

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