Later onset of Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD): a case report

ABSTRACT

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) is a rare condition characterized by regression of developmental and behavioral functioning after a period of apparently normal development, with an age of onset around 4 years. CDD is not included within the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. We present a case report of an 11-year-old male who achieved normal development for up to 7 years followed by a deterioration of previously acquired linguistic, intellectual, and social skills. Following treatment with lithium carbonate combined with risperidone, the patient experienced a reduction in irritability and aggression. CDD is a rare condition; therefore, the data presented may be useful to investigate its characteristics of the onset, to improve the understanding of the aspects of differentiation from the Autism Spectrum Disorder and finally to propose the possibility of treatment

KEYWORDS:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• CDD
• case report
• lithium carbonate

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank patient and his family for consenting to the publication of this study.

Data availability statement

The datasets for this article are not publicly available due to concerns regarding participant/patient anonymity. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Bambino Gesù Children Hospital (No. 2477/2021).

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from C.G.’s parents for the publication of any potentially identifiable data included in this article and they have consented to the submission of the case report to the journal.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.