[Child sexual abuse, false-memory syndrome and Huntington chorea]

Abstract

We report on a female inpatient who at the age of 47 years presented depressive and anxiety symptoms and alcohol abuse and who suffered from cognitive, personality, and discrete movement disturbances later on. In the course of the long-term psychotherapy which was supported by the technique of creative drawings previously forgotten memories of a very severe sexual abuse in childhood emerged. The recovery of these memories was followed by an intensification of the anxiety which lead to several psychiatric rehospitalizations. During the last hospital stay the diagnosis of Huntington's chorea was verified explaining well the rich psychopathology of the patient. The recollections of sexual abuse were for the most part qualified as a false memory syndrome. In addition to other factors the chorea-inherent cognitive impairment will have contributed to the occurrence of false memory syndrome. The new diagnosis dictated a change of the therapeutic procedure which, at least in the medium-term, proved to be successful.