Catalepsy

Catalepsy
Classification and external resources
Specialty	psychiatry
ICD-10	F20.2, F44.2
ICD-9-CM	295.2, 300.11
MeSH	D002375
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Catalepsy (from Greek κατάληψις "seizing/grasping") is a nervous condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain.

Symptoms include: rigid body, rigid limbs, limbs staying in same position when moved (waxy flexibility), no response, loss of muscle control, and slowing down of bodily functions, such as breathing.

Catalepsy is a symptom of certain nervous disorders or conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. It is also a characteristic symptom of cocaine withdrawal, as well as one of the features of catatonia. It can be caused by schizophrenia treatment with anti-psychotics, such as haloperidol, and by the anesthetic ketamine.Protein kinase A has been suggested as a mediator of cataleptic behavior.

St. Teresa of Avila experienced a prolonged bout of catalepsy that began in 1539. This episode was precipitated by the stress she was suffering at the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation. Her legs became rigid, leaving her an invalid for three years. Teresa endured intermittent attacks of catalepsy from then on.

In the arts, catalepsy is often used for dramatic effect, sometimes as a plot device.

In Alexandre Dumas, père's novel The Count of Monte Cristo, the Abbé Faria has fits of catalepsy from time to time, before eventually dying from one.

In Eugène Sue's The Mysteries of Paris, the villain Jacques Ferrand experiences a fit described as cataleptic in his final confrontation with Rodolphe, blinded by lamplight and hallucinating with visions of his fantasized Cecily.

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