4q- Deletion Syndrome: Psychiatric Symptoms in a Rare Chromosomal Disorder

Developmental disorders comprise a heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by an interruption in normal development during childhood with many etiologies. These include individuals with genetic syndromes, autism spectrum disorders and individuals who have suffered medical or environmental insults in the prenatal period or during childhood.

The prevalence of depression, anxiety and psychosis is high in this population, with 30-64% of patients developing comorbid psychiatric conditions. We report the case of an 18 years old man with karyotype 46, XY, del (4)(q21.1q21.3), and describe his psychiatric symptoms and respective management. The term 4q- syndrome was used for the first time by Townes and colleagues referring to chromosome deletions at the breakpoint 4q31, and was later extended to include terminal deletions. Read more>>>>>>>>>>