Postpartum psychosis with abnormal movements: dopamine supersensitivity unmasked by withdrawal of endogenous estrogens?
Vinogradov, S.; Csernansky, J.G.
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 51(9): 365-366
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0160-6689 PMID: 2211549 Document Number: 353755
The authors described two cases of postpartum psychosis accompanied by abnormal extrapyramidal movements. The presentation of these cases, as well as research evidence indicating that estrogens influence dopamine receptor function, leads the authors to hypothesize that dopamine receptor supersensitivity may have been induced by prepartum increases in endogenous estrogens and unmasked by postpartum estrogen withdrawal.