TABLE 1.
DI: a Babel of names and milestones in research
| Yr of publication | Author(s) (country)a | Name used for DI | Milestones and new concepts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1894 | Thibierge (F) | Les acarophobes | First clear description |
| 1896 | Perrin (F) | Des névrodermies parasitophobiques | Matchbox sign (first) |
| 1920 | Gamper (D) | Psychosen des Rückbildungsalter | Organic origin (hypothesized thalamic dysfunction) |
| 1921 | Pierce (USA) | Entomophobia | |
| Myerson (USA) | Acarophobia | ||
| 1923 | Giacardy (F) | Un cas d'acarophobie familiale | SPD (first) |
| 1925 | Grøn (FIN) | Les dermatophobies | Psychogenic origin |
| 1928 | MacNamara (USA) | “Cutaneous … hallucinations” | Hallucinations plus secondary delusions; affection of pets (first) |
| 1929 | Schwarz (D) | Circumscripte Hypochondrie | Occurs as a depressive symptom |
| 1930 | Mallet and Male (F) | Délire cénesthesique | |
| 1934 | Smith (USA) | Hallucinations of insect infestation | |
| 1935 | Wilhelmi (D) | Ungezieferwahn | |
| 1938 | Ekbom (S) | Der präsenile Dermatozoenwahn | Distinct disorder (first), organic/involutional, |
| Hase (D) | Pseudoparasitismus | illusion plus secondary delusions | |
| 1944 | Davis | Insect hallucination | |
| 1946 | Wilson and Miller (USA) | Delusion of parasitosis | Four different etiologies |
| 1949 | Harbauer (D) | Dermatozoenwahn (Ekbom) | Presenile or in depression, response to ECT (first), illusions or hallucinations occur |
| 1954 | Bers and Conrad (D) | Die chronische taktile Halluzinose | Multiple etiologies, mostly organic, with emphasis on hallucinations |
| Böttcher (D) | Das Syndrom des wahnhaften Ungezieferbefalls | First to gather cases from PCOsb emphasizes syndromal nature | |
| 1960 | Döhring (D) | Ungezieferwahn | Sample of 77 cases reported by a microbiologist |
| 1962 | Liebaldt and Klages (D) | Isolierte taktile Dermatozoenhalluzinose | Only postmortem histology (thalamocortical dysconnection) |
| 1965 | Tullett (UK) | Delusions of parasitosis | Separate entity, “monosymptomatic hypochondriasis” |
| 1966 | Schrut and Waldron (USA) | Delusory parasitosis (entomo-, acaro-, or dermatophobia) | Psychoanalytical model (unconscious sexual guilt) |
| 1970 | Hopkinson (CAN) | Delusions of infestation | First response to antidepressant in major depression |
| 1975 | Ganner and Lorenzi (D) | Der Dermatozoenwahn | “Independent” and “as a concomitant phenomenon” |
| Riding and Munro (UK) | Monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis | First response to pimozide (case 3) | |
| 1978 | Annika Skott (S) | Delusions of infestation; Dermatozoenwahn (Ekbom's syndrome) | First real study, “primary delusion,” organic (>50% of cases) |
| 1979 | Frithz (S) | Delusions of infestation | First study with depot antipsychotics |
| 1982-1986 | Ungvari and Vladar (H), Hamann and Avnstorp (S) | Dermatozoenwahn, delusion(s) of infestation | Open and placebo-controlled studies with pimozide |
| 1983 | Lyell (UK) | Delusions of parasitosis | First and largest survey; DI starts from senile pruritus |
| 1985 | Berrios (UK) | Delusional parasitosis | Four pathogenetic mechanisms, a variety of etiologies |
| 1986 | Bourgeois (F) | Syndrome d'Ekbom et délires d'infestation cutanée | Large survey of French dermatologists |
| 1987 | Renvoize et al. (UK) | The syndrome of delusional infestation | Emphasis on syndromal nature |
| 1989 | Musalek (A) | Dermatozoenwahn | First interdisciplinary outpatient clinic; only SPECT study |
| 1991-1995 | Trabert (D) | Dermatozoenwahn | Only epidemiological study (D), meta-analysis of 1,223 cases |
| 1994 | Srinivasan et al. (IND) | Delusional parasitosis | Open study questioning superiority of pimozide |
| 1995 | Gallucci and Beard (US) | Delusions of parasitosis | Response to atypical antipsychotic risperidone (first) (n = 1) |
| 2007 | Lepping et al. (UK) | Delusional parasitosis | Systematic review of antipsychotics in DI (first) |
| 2008 | Freudenmann and Lepping (D) | Delusional parasitosis | Meta-analysis of cases treated with atypical antipsychotics (first) |
| Huber et al. (I) | Delusional parasitosis | Structural MRI study (first) |
a
F, France; D, Germany; USA, United States; FIN, Finland; S, Sweden; UK, United Kingdom; CAN, Canada; H, Hungary; A, Austria; IND, India; I, Italy.
b
PCO, pest control officer.