How precision psychiatry helped my patient
I applaud Dr. Nasrallah’s editorial “The dawn of precision psychiatry” (From the Editor, Current Psychiatry. December 2017, p. 7-8,11). Since the late 1990s, I have been practicing psychiatry in this mode in increasingly greater degree. I thought you would be interested in a recent case that demonstrates the application of precision psychiatry in an adolescent patient previously diagnosed with an attention disorder, an anxiety disorder, and a possible dissociative disorder.
Ms. G, age 14, presented with periodic emotional “meltdowns,” which would occur in any setting, and I determined that they were precipitated by a high glycemic intake. By carefully controlling her glycemic intake and starting her on caprylic acid (a medium-chain triglyceride, which was used to maintain a ketotic state), 1 tablespoon 3 times daily, we were able to reduce the frequency of her episodes by 80% to 90%. Using data from commercially available DNA testing, I determined that she had single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in an alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase gene, which is primarily located in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and whose function is supported by thiamine and impaired by high glycemic intake.1 After adding oral thiamine hydrochloride, 100 mg twice a day, and correcting other abnormalities (eg, she was hypothyroid), her episodes are now rare. She is functioning well, has been getting high grades, and recently wrote a 40-page short story.
Once she improved, she was able to describe having a partial seizure, with a rising sensation, which often improves with ketosis. Clearly, disruption of her PFC energetics due to the SNPs described above contributed to the disinhibition of the temporal lobe structures. Furthermore, she has an APOE3/4 status, which puts her at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Her mother was educated about the importance of good health habits, which is personalized and preventative medicine.
Robert Hedaya, MD, DLFAPA
Clinical Professor
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Washington, DC
Faculty
Institute for Functional Medicine
Gig Harbor, Washington, DC
Founder
National Center for Whole Psychiatry
Rockville, Maryland
Reference
1. Tretter L, Adam-Vizi V. Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase: a target and generator of oxidative stress. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2005;360(1464):2335-2345.
Dr. Nasrallah responds
My thanks to Dr. Hedaya for his letter and for providing an excellent example of precision psychiatry. His brief case vignette brings it to life! I commend him for practicing on the cutting-edge of psychiatry’s scientific frontier.
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