“LATE PARAPHRENIA” (A REPORT FROM THE GEROPSYCHIATRIC CLINIC, MADURAI, INDIA)

A brief review of literature on Late Paraphrenia is offered. An analysis was made on 15 cases of late paraphrenia with reference to its frequency, sex distribution, hallucinations, delusions and sensory impairment. Late Paraphrenia formed 4% of all Geropsychiatry cases. All the cases had hallucinations (100%) while 14 had delusions (93%). An associated auditory and/or visual defect was noticed in 13 of the cases (87%). Follow up findings revealed a sustained remission for 4 to 5 years with drugs in 12 patients (75%) and one patient died from cerebral stroke.