We may state the following as the result of our work: The results in a series of sixty-seven patients in whom the final outcome was determined in all but one case, cause us to conclude that patients with involution melancholia recover unless they show as dominant symptoms: marked insufficiency of affect, peevish or auto-erotic behavior, or ridiculous hypochondriac delusions which usually are concerned with the alimentary tract. These prognostically bad symptoms may be present for a short phase of the psychosis in women at the menopause without their prejudicing the outlook for recovery. All patients who eventually recover show some improvement within four years after the onset. The others run a chronic course or die unimproved.
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