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The British Journal of Psychiatry 161: 118-120 (1992)
© 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

The treatment of a chronic organic mental disorder with dextromethorphan in a man with severe mental retardation

L Welch and R Sovner
Craig D.D.S.O., Geneseo, New York.

Response to dextromethorphan (15 mg b.i.d.), an antitussive agent not usually considered to have psychotropic properties, was seen in a 25- year-old man with severe developmental disabilities, congenital rubella, and an organic mental disorder. Dextromethorphan affects CNS serotonergic systems, and this was the probable therapeutic mechanism. This and other published cases suggest the existence of a distinct organic mental syndrome in developmentally disabled persons which responds to drugs that increase indoleaminergic activity.


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