You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The incidence of asthma in psychotic patients as compared to the general population is low and instances of asthma disappearing with the onset of mental illness are on record. To account for this relationship between asthma and mental illness, Funkenstein investigated the changes in autonomic reactions accompanying the psychoses. He administered a test of the autonomic system based on adrenergic and cholinergic stimulation to six patients whose frequent severe asthma attacks ceased when they developed mental illnesses. When the patients were not psychotic and were suffering from asthma, there was evidence of increased parasympathetic activity following administration of mecholyl. This was seen in a marked drop in blood pressure associated with the precipitation of long severe asthmatic attacks. When the patients were mentally ill and free of asthma they showed altered sympathetic function in the form of a slight drop in blood pressure and a precipitation of mild brief asthma attacks following the injection of mecholyl. With a remission of the psychosis, the altered sympathetic activity was no longer obtained and the spontaneous asthma attacks returned. Funkenstein submits that the altered function of the sympathetic nervous system in psychotic patients accounts for their freedom from asthma.