Psychoorganic syndrome

Description:

Psychoorganic syndrome (synonym: an organic psychosyndrome) — the psychopathological symptom complex caused by organic lesion of a brain and which is shown disturbances of intelligence and memory, and also disorders of affect.

Symptoms of the Psychoorganic syndrome:

Disturbances of intelligence at patients are shown first of all by decrease in criticism at a self-assessment and assessment of surrounding. So, the patient rather truly estimates bad and good, but concerning people around makes the wrong acts, tactlessly speaks, without understanding it. Ability to acquisition of new knowledge worsens in various degree, the volume and quality of knowledge gained in the past decreases, the focus of interest is limited. The thinking becomes conservative, unilateral that together with the changed assessment surrounding leads to disturbance of ability of the patient to capture a situation in general. The speech, in particular oral worsens (the lexicon decreases, the structure of phrases becomes simpler, the patient uses verbal templates, auxiliary words more often). In a conversation he is not capable to allocate the main thing, easily is distracted by minor details and gets stuck in them.
Disturbances of memory extend to all its types. Storing of the new facts worsens, i.e. memory on the current events suffers, ability to keep apprehended and an opportunity to activate memory stocks decreases.
Disorders of affect are more often shown by the lowered or careless and complacent mood. One mood can prevail, but their change which usually depends on external circumstances is quite often observed, but happens also spontaneous. When change of moods sharp, is noted a so-called incontience of affect: for short spans the patient has a sensitivity, tearfulness, depressive statements which easily are replaced by the increased carefree mood (euphoria), povyshenno-foolish mood (Moria), an umilennost, unreasonable optimism that is followed by the corresponding mimicry. At the same time the patient can be extremely stubborn or is raised inspired and compliant.
The psychoorganic syndrome can proceed sharply, for example after a craniocereberal injury, a stroke, acute asphyxia; more often it develops gradually. In the latter case in an initial stage the psychoorganic syndrome often is followed by a point of characterologic lines of the patient, i.e. there are psychopatholike frustration. Further the personal features inherent in the patient to a disease or arisen at the beginning of development of this syndrome, are erased up to total disappearance.
Easy manifestations (irritable weakness, exhaustion, some narrowing of a focus of interest, insignificant deterioration in criticism and memory) are often called organic decrease in level of the personality; heavy (gross violations of intelligence, lack of emotionality and former individual traits of character, memory disintegration) — organic dementia, or organic weak-mindedness. Under the influence of additional harmful effects (for example, somatic and infectious diseases, intoxication of various origin) many patients with clearly the expressed psioorganichesky syndrome have conditions of stupefaction, is more often in the form of a delirium, devocalizations are more rare. In some cases after the postponed condition of stupefaction symptoms of an organic psychosyndrome amplify. At easy manifestations after mental injuries situational depressions can be noted. Besides, against the background of easy manifestations of a psikhorganichesky syndrome usually with constitutional predisposition, psychoses in the form of a mania, depressions, various crazy pictures or gallyutsinoz are observed endoformny (the reminding schizophrenia or maniac-depressive psychosis). Expressiveness of symptoms involves a gradual reduction of endoformny psychoses. Patients with an organic psychosyndrome often complain of headaches, dizzinesses, instability when walking, badly transfer a heat, closeness, changes of atmospheric pressure, loud sounds; they note various neurologic symptoms.
On severity distinguish asthenic, explosive, apathetic and euphoric options of a psikhorganichesky syndrome.

Reasons of the Psychoorganic syndrome:

The psychoorganic syndrome is caused by organic lesion of a brain (vascular diseases of a brain, damages of the central nervous system, at syphilis, craniocereberal injuries, various intoxications, chronic disbolism, at the tumors and abscesses of a brain, encephalitis, and also at diseases which are followed by convulsive attacks). But especially often psychoorganic syndrome arises at atrophic processes of a brain at presenile and senile age (Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia).

Treatment of the Psychoorganic syndrome:

Treatment is directed to therapy of the basic disease which caused a psychoorganic syndrome and is carried out depending on disease degree of manifestation in a hospital or is out-patient. Nootropic drugs, neurotrophic and tserebroprotektivny therapy, antioxidants and vitamin therapy have positive effect.