Organic brain syndrome
Other names	Organic brain disease Organic brain disorder Organic mental syndrome Organic mental disorder
Encephalopathy as a result of head trauma,possible cause of organic brain syndrome
Specialty	Psychiatry, Neurology
Symptoms	Depends on the cause,usually memory problems, personality changes, mood swings, cognitive impairment, vision and movement problems
Usual onset	Over 60 years old
Causes	Organ damage,generally of the brain
Risk factors	Head trauma, intoxication with certain substances, infection, vitamin deficiency
Differential diagnosis	Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post concussion syndrome, drug withdrawal

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Organic brain syndrome, also known as organic brain disease, organic brain damage, organic brain disorder, organic mental syndrome, or organic mental disorder, refers to any syndrome or disorder of mental function whose cause is alleged to be known as organic (physiologic) rather than purely of the mind. These names are older and nearly obsolete general terms from psychiatry, referring to many physical disorders that cause impaired mental function.^[1] They are meant to exclude psychiatric disorders (mental disorders). Originally, the term was created to distinguish physical (termed "organic") causes of mental impairment from psychiatric (termed "functional") disorders, but during the era when this distinction was drawn, not enough was known about brain science (including neuroscience, cognitive science, neuropsychology, and mind-brain correlation) for this cause-based classification to be more than educated guesswork labeled with misplaced certainty, which is why it has been deemphasized in current medicine. While mental or behavioural abnormalities related to the dysfunction can be permanent,^[2] treating the disease early may prevent permanent damage in addition to fully restoring mental functions. An organic cause to brain dysfunction is suspected when there is no indication of a clearly defined psychiatric or "inorganic" cause, such as a mood disorder.^[3]

Types

Organic brain syndrome can be divided into 2 major subgroups: acute (delirium or acute confusional state) and chronic (dementia). A third entity, encephalopathy (amnestic), denotes a gray zone between delirium and dementia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has broken up the diagnoses that once fell under the diagnostic category organic mental disorder into three categories: delirium, dementia, and amnestic.^[3]

Symptoms

Many of the symptoms of Organic Mental Disorder depend on the cause of the disorder, but are similar and include physical or behavioral elements. Dementia and delirium are the cause of the confusion, orientation, cognition or alertness impairment.^[10] Therefore, these symptoms require more attention because hallucinations, delusions, amnesia, and personality changes are the result. These effects of the dementia and delirium are not joined with the changes of sensory or perception abilities. Memory impairment, judgment, logical function and agitation are also some extremely common symptoms.^[11] The more common symptoms of OBS are confusion; impairment of memory, judgment, and intellectual function; and agitation. Often these symptoms are attributed to psychiatric illness, which causes a difficulty in diagnosis.

Treatment

While the treatment depends on which particular disorder is involved in Organic Mental Disorder, a few that are possible. Treatments can include, but are not limited to, rehabilitation therapy such as physical or occupational, pharmacological modification of the neurotransmitter function, or medication.^[17] The affected parts of the brain can recover some function with the help of different types of therapy. Online therapy can be just as intense and helpful as rehabilitation therapy, in person, and can help those affected regain function in daily life.^[18]

Prognosis

Some disorders are short-term and treatable, and their prognosis is not as lengthy.^[19] Rest and medication are the most common courses of action for these treatable cases to help the patient return to proper health. Many of the cases are long-term, and there is not as much of a set and defined prognosis. The course of action can include extensive counseling and therapy.^[20] There are many reasons that the long-term cases are harder to treat and these include these cases normally get worse over time, and medication or therapy could not work.^[21] In this case, many of the prognosis tracks are to help the patient and their family become more comfortable and understand what will happen.

References

External links

• AllRefer Health.com. 13 December 2006.