Paroxetine treatment of delusional disorder, somatic type.

A 77-year-old female showed delusion of infestation in the oral cavity. She was treated by paroxetine 20 mg/day, and the hypochondriacal delusion disappeared after 8 weeks. Hypoperfusion in the left temporal and parietal lobes which was observed when she had the delusion was normalized after resolution of the delusion. This report suggests that paroxetine may be effective for delusional disorder, somatic type. It also supports the previous views that this disorder is associated with serotonergic dysfunction and hypoperfusion in the temporal and parietal lobes.