General features:
(1) the patient has an unfounded belief that he/she is loved by another person
(2) the other person is often of a higher social status or unattainable for some reason
(3) the patient is usually female
(4) the patient believes that the person fell in love first and was making advances
(5) the patient believes that the person is madly in love despite being rejected
(6) over time the patient may start to hate the person and try to retaliate; a male patient may become violent
Forms:
(1) primary: the erotic delusion is the only psychotic manifestation; hallucinations are absent; onset is abrupt and follows a chronic course
(2) secondary: associated with another psychiatric illness, with gradual onset and ill-defined course
The syndrome may be associated with:
(1) head trauma
(2) convulsions
(3) subarachnoid hemorrhage
(4) pregnancy
(5) HIV infection
(6) Cushing's disease
(7) oral contraceptives or premenopause
(8) substance abuse
(9) Alzheimer's disease or other dementia
