The drugs used for the treatment of psychiatric disorders sometimes pr
oduce neurological symptoms (drug-induced lipidosis) similar to those
found in subjects with genetic disorders of lipid metabolism. We repor
t the case of a young man with Niemann-Pick disease first treated for
behavioural disorders. As the family accused the Medical Department to
be responsible for a disease caused by excess of medication, a detail
ed study of the patient's biochemical features was used to refute the
complaint.