What Is the Cause of Cotard’s Syndrome?

The cause of Cotard’s syndrome, a neuropsychiatric condition, is unknown, but certain conditions are likely to cause it, including dementia, encephalopathy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, subdural bleeding, epilepsy, and migraine.

Cotard’s syndrome, also known as walking corpse syndrome, is a neuropsychiatric condition in which people develop false beliefs that their body parts are missing, or they are dying or they don’t exist. This condition is rare because only 200 known cases are present worldwide.

This condition typically exists in people with depression, schizophrenia, or other mental illnesses and is often associated with dementia (memory loss).

People with Cotard’s syndrome manifest the following symptoms:

• Negation of the mind, brain, and intellect
• Denial of pregnancy
• Denial of the existence of various body parts
• Denial of being alive
• Denial of self-movement
• Self-starvation
• Less sociable
• One of the symptoms is nihilism, in which a person believes that nothing has any value or meaning.

The exact cause of Cotard’s syndrome is unknown. There are certain conditions that more likely cause this syndrome:

• Dementia (loss of memory and judgment)
• Encephalopathy (a condition, where a virus or toxin affects the brain)
• Multiple sclerosis (serious disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord)
• Parkinson’s disease (nerve cell damage in the brain leading to shaking, stiffness and gait difficulty)
• Stroke
• Subdural bleeding (bleeding outside the brain)
• Epilepsy
• Migraine

People in their early 50s are at the risk of getting Cotard’s syndrome. People with the following conditions are at higher risk:

• History of mental illness
• Depression
• Schizophrenia
• Substance abuse
• Brain tumor
• Stroke
• Blood clot in the brain
• Injury to the brain
• Bipolar disorder in teens

Because Cotard’s syndrome is not a disease, it doesn’t have standardized diagnostic criteria. The physician may rule out other conditions to confirm the diagnosis of Cotard’s syndrome. The physician might ask about the symptoms or any risk factors.

The management of Cotard’s syndrome involves medication therapy and a form of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or psychotherapy.

These therapies can treat Cotard’s syndrome to a great extent.

Medications used to treat Cotard’s syndrome include the following:

• Antipsychotics
• Antianxiety drugs
• Antidepressants

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be the preferred choice of therapy in the case of failed medication and talk therapy. ECT therapy involves sending small currents through the brain. This alters the brain’s chemistry to relieve some of the symptoms.

Although the symptoms are severe, Cotard’s syndrome is curable with treatment. Generally, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) therapy is beneficial compared to medications in treating Cotard’s syndrome.