A 23-year-old experienced recurring catatonia episodes triggered by cannabis use
A young man with substance use history developed recurrent catatonia after cannabis use, requiring ongoing lorazepam above 2 mg daily to prevent relapse.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
A 23-year-old male developed mutism, social isolation, and fixed gaze after cannabis use. Recurrent catatonic episodes without hallucinations were effectively treated with ECT and lorazepam, but symptoms returned when lorazepam dropped below 2 mg/day. The systematic literature review confirms cannabis-induced catatonia as a rare but documented phenomenon.
Key Numbers
23-year-old male. Recurrent episodes. Required lorazepam above 2 mg/day. ECT and lorazepam effective for acute episodes. 10% of psychiatric admissions involve catatonia overall.
How They Did This
Case report of recurrent cannabis-induced catatonia with systematic literature review.
Why This Research Matters
Cannabis-induced catatonia is rare but may be underdiagnosed because clinicians do not typically associate cannabis with this presentation.
The Bigger Picture
As cannabis potency increases, rare but serious psychiatric reactions may become more common, challenging the perception of cannabis as having only mild psychiatric effects.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Single case report. Cannot establish definitive causation. Patient had prior substance use disorder. Systematic review likely found very few cases.
Questions This Raises
- ?What factors predispose certain individuals to cannabis-induced catatonia?
- ?Should catatonia screening be considered in psychiatric presentations following heavy cannabis use?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- catatonic episodes triggered by cannabis use, requiring ongoing lorazepam above 2 mg/day
- Evidence Grade:
- Single case report with literature review. Useful for clinical awareness but cannot establish incidence.
- Study Age:
- 2024 publication.
- Original Title:
- Recurrent cannabis-induced catatonia: a case report and comprehensive systematic literature review.
- Published In:
- Frontiers in psychiatry, 15, 1332310 (2024)
- Authors:
- Moshfeghinia, Reza(2), Hosseinzadeh, Mehrnaz(2), Mostafavi, Sara, Jabbarinejad, Roxana, Malekpour, Mahdi, Chohedri, Elnaz, Ahmadi, Jamshid
- Database ID:
- RTHC-05572
Evidence Hierarchy
Describes what happened to one person or a small group.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Can cannabis cause catatonia?
This case documents recurrent catatonia triggered by cannabis. While rare, the association is documented. The mechanism likely involves disruption of dopamine and GABA neurotransmitter systems.
What is catatonia?
A neuropsychiatric syndrome involving motor, speech, and behavioral abnormalities. It affects about 10% of psychiatric admissions and can be life-threatening if untreated.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-05572APA
Moshfeghinia, Reza; Hosseinzadeh, Mehrnaz; Mostafavi, Sara; Jabbarinejad, Roxana; Malekpour, Mahdi; Chohedri, Elnaz; Ahmadi, Jamshid. (2024). Recurrent cannabis-induced catatonia: a case report and comprehensive systematic literature review.. Frontiers in psychiatry, 15, 1332310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1332310
MLA
Moshfeghinia, Reza, et al. "Recurrent cannabis-induced catatonia: a case report and comprehensive systematic literature review.." Frontiers in psychiatry, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1332310
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Recurrent cannabis-induced catatonia: a case report and comp..." RTHC-05572. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/moshfeghinia-2024-recurrent-cannabisinduced-catatonia-a
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.