Organic brain syndrome (OBS) is a general term, referring to physical disorders (usually not psychiatric disorders) that cause decreased mental function.
OBS is a common diagnosis in the elderly. It is not an inevitable part of aging, however. OBS is not a separate disease, but is a general term used to categorize physical conditions that can cause mental changes.
Disorders associated with OBS include, but are not limited to:
Withdrawal from drugs (especially sedative-hypnotics and corticosteroids)
Other medical disorders
Thyroid disease (high or low)
Vitamin deficiency (B12 and others)
Liver disease
Kidney disease
Cancer
Other conditions that may be related to organic brain syndrome include: depression, neuroses, and psychoses of various types, which may occur at the same time as the OBS.
Symptoms:
Symptoms vary with the specific disease. In general, organic brain syndromes cause varying degrees of confusion, delirium (severe, short-term loss of brain function), agitation, and dementia (long-term, often progressive, loss of brain function).
Signs and tests:
Testing and physical examination vary, depending on the specific disorder. Head CT scan, head MRI, EEG, and blood tests, to evaluate for medical conditions, are done frequently.
Review Date: 9/7/2006
Reviewed By: Kenneth Gross, M.D., Neurology, North Miami, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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Cognitive Neurology
