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Serotonin toxicity is a potentially life-threatening condition associated with increased serotonergic activity in the central nervous system. It is seen with therapeutic medication use, intentional self-poisoning and inadvertent interactions (SSRI-isoniazid). Although this pathology is increasingly common, it is not well recognized by physicians and manifestations may be wrongly attributed to another cause. The aim of this paper is to describe the clinical picture of a patient, to collaborate on diagnosis and to improve medical care of these patients., (Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.)

Malignant hyperthermia is a hypermetabolic syndrome that appears in susceptible patients after exposure to certain anaesthetic drugs (succinylcholine, inhalation anaesthetics). Its incidence in Spain is 1 in 40,000 adults, with a 10% mortality rate. It is induced by an abnormal regulation of the ryanodine receptors, producing a massive release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the striate muscle. Clinical manifestations include: CO 2 increase, tachycardia, haemodynamic instability, metabolic and respiratory acidosis, profuse sweating, hyperpyrexia, CPK increase, myoglobinuria, kidney failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and ending in cardiac arrest. Dantrolene sodium is a ryanodine receptor antagonist, and inhibits the release of intracellular calcium. Definitive diagnosis is achieved by the exposure of muscle fibres to caffeine and halothane. Protocols can help guarantee a reliable and secure management when this severe event occurs., (Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The serotonin syndrome is a clinical condition associated with serotonin agonists. Is due to an overstimulation of central and peripheral serotonin receptors that leads to mental, autonomic and neuromuscular changes. Usually the disorder resolves within the first 24 hours after the medications are discontinued, however some patients progress to a multiple organ failure and die. We describe four elderly patients that presented with the classic triad. They presented the symptoms in average at the third day after the initiation or variation of the treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors. All had a favorable response with the suspension of medications and, in three cases, with the treatment with chlorpromazine. We believe it is a potentially fatal but reversible condition, probably underdiagnosed that requires a high index of suspicion.

Acute or sub-acute movement disorders represent a small percentage of neurological emergencies but it is necessary to be aware of their existence because a failure in their diagnosis or treatment can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Clinical presentation of acute movement disorders can be diverse. In some cases acinesia or rigidity predominates, while others are characterized by dystonia, chorea o balism. The type of movement disorder suggest a specific aetiology. Drugs represent the most frequent etiologic factor and are the cause of neuroleptic malignant syndrome and serotoninergic syndrome. Emergencies secondary to Parkinson's disease are reviewed, including parkinsonism-hyperpirexia syndrome, acute psychosis and the emergencies derived from deep brain stimulators. Different aetiologies of acute dystonia and chorea are also covered and, finally, acute movement disorders due to stroke are reviewed.

Introduction: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter synthesized from tryptophan. It is implied in the regulation of mood, cognition, sleep cycle, synthesis of cerebrospinal fluid, and other processes. Generally, it is implied in human pathology by hypofunction. However, there is a complication of unknown incidence related to treatment with drugs that increase the stimulation of 5-HT1A serotonin receptors, called serotonin syndrome (SS). Clinically, it is characterised by the presence of a triad of mental and autonomic disorders, and motor hyperactivity. This entity has not biological markers and its diagnosis could be done verifying the proposed criteria., Case Reports: Two cases of SS are presented, one of them related to the combination of risperidone and sertraline, as first report in the literature. Both cases had a favourable outcome employing support measures., Conclusions: The physiopathology, the diagnosis, the differential diagnosis, and the treatment are reviewed. We emphasize the potentially high frequency of this disorder, given the growing use of serotonin activity modifying drugs, and the typically benign course of the SS once the support measures are started.

A 57 year-old man chronically treated with 50 mg daily of sertraline was admitted to the emergency room with mental status changes, rigidity, seizure activity and autonomic instability. He was rapidly transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. Laboratory determinations revealed increases in serum enzymes, prevailing creatine phosphokinase with a peak level by the third day of 35,000 Ui/L. Initial low serum sodium (10 mEq/L) was attributed to inadequate antidiuretic hormone secretion. Supportive care included discontinuation of sertraline and lorazepam administration. Mental status, and rigidity returned to baseline within 60 hours. Differential diagnosis between the neuroleptic malignant syndrome and the serotonin syndrome could not be determined accurately because of the striking overlap of signs and symptoms of both syndromes.