Search

A small proportion of bipolar disorder of adolescent onset can be secondary to underlying neurological disorder (secondary mania). We report a case of treatment-resistant mania secondary to cerebral form of adrenoleukodystrophy of adolescent onset. This case demonstrates the need for clinicians to be alert to the possibility of rare neurological diseases that can present with psychiatric manifestations.

Leukodystrophy is a group of demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases of brain with varied presentation and multiple etiologies. Prognosis is predominantly dismal. Misdiagnosis and wrong treatment are common in this group of rare neurological disorders, especially when it presents with psychiatric symptoms. In this case, importance of neurological and radiological evaluation and need for high diagnostic suspicion in treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders is highlighted.