What is Alice in Wonderland syndrome and what to do about it

What is Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, or Todd's Syndrome, is violationT. Naarden, B.C. ter Meulen, S.I. van der Weele, J.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome as a Presenting Manifestation of Creutzfeldt‑Jakob Disease / Frontiers in Neurology visual perception, feeling the scheme of your body (that is, ideas about its size and structure) and a sense of time. This is not a separate disease, therefore, it is not in classifiers such as the ICD.

Syndrome receivedScary But True: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome/UPMC the name comes from the novel of the same name by Lewis Carroll, where the main character watched her body and objects around her grow and shrink. Scientists consider1. L. Palacios‑Sánchez, J.S. Botero-Meneses, L. Mora-Munoz, A. Guerrero‑Naranjo, M.C. Moreno-Matson, N. Pachon, J.D. Charry Sanchez. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS). A reflection /Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology

2. T. Naarden, B.C. ter Meulen, S.I. van der Weele, J.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome as a Presenting Manifestation of Creutzfeldt‑Jakob Disease / Frontiers in Neurologythat the author himself suffered from similar sensations caused by migraines, epilepsy or drug abuse. But this is not the only work where such metamorphoses took place: in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Adventures, the hero saw giants and midgets, which may also resemble this syndrome. Therefore, another name for it is “Lilliput vision”.

CountsJ.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland syndrome / Neurology Clinical Practicethat this is a rare condition. However, some studies have shown that 15% of people with migraines have had symptoms, and 10% of people at least once in their lives experiencedScary But True: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome/UPMC similar feelings. But this is not accurate, because it is difficult to establish the true prevalence: there are no clear objective criteria, and from 1955 to 2016 has been describedT. Naarden, B.C. ter Meulen, S.I. van der Weele, J.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome as a Presenting Manifestation of Creutzfeldt‑Jakob Disease / Frontiers in Neurology only 169 cases. Most often they occur in children.

How Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Manifests

42 symptoms have been associated with this syndrome over the past 60 years, so the clinical picture is very is different1. L. Palacios‑Sánchez, J.S. Botero-Meneses, L. Mora-Munoz, A. Guerrero‑Naranjo, M.C. Moreno-Matson, N. Pachon, J.D. Charry Sanchez. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS). A reflection /Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology
2. T. Naarden, B.C. ter Meulen, S.I. van der Weele, J.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome as a Presenting Manifestation of Creutzfeldt‑Jakob Disease / Frontiers in Neurology from person to person. The main signs are:

• micropsia, when objects appear small;
• macropsia - large;
• telepsy, when it seems that objects are further away;
• pelopsia - closer;
• metamorphopsia - expansion, reduction or distortion of one's own body;
• Feeling that time is moving too fast or too slow
• short-term visual hallucinations;
• changes in auditory and tactile perception;
• episodes of depersonalization and derealizationwhen the sense of reality is lost.

Why Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Occurs

It is impossible to say for sure, since there are not so many described cases. Syndrome bindF. Montastruc, N. Schwartz, L. Schmitt, E. bui. An overview of the symptoms and disorders typical associated with Alice in Wonderland syndrome / Neuropsychiatry with conditions like:

• migraine, and most often the symptoms appear immediately before the attack or after it;
• viral infections - Epstein - Barr, Coxsackie and influenza;
• bacterial infections such as Lyme diseaseA. Weissenstein, E. Luchter, M.A. Stefan Bittmann Alice in Wonderland syndrome: A rare neurological manifestation with microscopy in a 6‑year‑old child / Journal of Pediatric Neurosciences;
• head injury;
• violationY.T. Kuo, N.C. Chiu, E.Y. Shen, C.S. Ho, M.C. wu. Cerebral perfusion in children with Alice in Wonderland syndrome / Pediatric Neurology blood circulation in the area of ​​the visual analyzer or temporal cortex;
• the use of psychotropic substances such as ecstasy, mescaline and inhalation drugs;
• mental disorders, eg depression, schizoaffective disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia.
• epilepsy.

Why is Alice in Wonderland syndrome dangerous?

By itself, this syndrome does not threaten anything special. But the disease that causedL. Palacios‑Sánchez, J.S. Botero-Meneses, L. Mora-Munoz, A. Guerrero‑Naranjo, M.C. Moreno-Matson, N. Pachon, J.D. Charry Sanchez. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS). A reflection /Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology, can be dangerous. In most cases, everything ends favorably: as treatment progresses, the intensity and frequency of episodes gradually decrease.

Nevertheless, when signs of the syndrome appear, you should not wait for everything to be fine, but go to a therapist who will refer you to a neurologist or for further examination. This will rule out encephalitis, cerebrovascular accidents and epilepsy, which can cause symptoms.

How is Alice in Wonderland syndrome treated?

Additional treatment is most often not required, only therapy for the underlying disease. Depending on the situation, they may would needJ.D. Blom. Alice in Wonderland syndrome / Neurology Clinical Practice:

• migraine medications;
• anticonvulsants;
• antiviral;
• antibiotics;
• very rarely - neuroleptics.

You can take any medication only after a doctor's prescription.