Summary

The course and outcome of catatonia have received limited attention in contemporary psychiatry, despite a rich classical literature from Kahlbaum to Gjessing and Leonhard that described a distinct periodic variant — periodische Katatonie — marked by recurrent episodes with full inter-episode recovery. We present a 55-year-old woman who developed two catatonic episodes at the peak of psychotic manic phases over two years, with complete recovery between them and after each acute presentation. Set against the historical sources, this vignette illustrates clinical features consistent with the periodic catatonia described in early twentieth-century nosography. We argue that this diagnostic category, lost in successive DSM editions, retains descriptive and prognostic value and deserves reconsideration within current psychiatric classification.

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Authors

Riccardo Piero Dalle Luche - Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Azienda USL Toscana Centro, Pistoia, Italy

Maria Cristina Di Meo - Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Azienda USL Toscana Centro, Pistoia, Italy

Ilaria Bianco - Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Azienda USL Toscana Centro, Pistoia, Italy

Francesco Mungai - Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Azienda USL Toscana Centro, Pistoia, Italy

Federico Mucci - Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Azienda USL Toscana Nord Ovest, Lucca, Italy

Barbara Carpita - Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Liliana Dell'Osso - Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Copyright (c) 2026 Italian Journal of Psychiatry

How to Cite
Dalle Luche, R. P., Di Meo, M. C., Bianco, I., Mungai, F., Mucci, F., Carpita, B., & Dell’Osso, L. (2026). Periodic catatonia revisited: a historical review and a clinical report: Periodic catatonia revisited. Italian Journal of Psychiatry, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.36180/2421-4469-2025-2682
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