Psychoorganic syndrome appears with brain lesions. With this disease, memory deteriorates, intelligence decreases and emotional instability occurs. This polietiologic disease can appear at any age, but older people are especially susceptible to it.
Symptoms
Symptoms of the psychoorganic syndrome are contained in the Walter-Buel triad. This definition includes memory impairment, decreased intelligence, and emotional-volitional impairment. At first, the patient suffers from asthenia, emotional instability, dependence on weather conditions, and a decrease in the level of concentration. He gets tired quickly and becomes less efficient. Then memory and intellectual abilities deteriorate greatly. A person practically loses the ability to assimilate new information or remember what he knew. Moreover, in some patients, different aspects of memory are affected to varying degrees. Other patients suffer from complete loss of memory of individual events. The third group has false memories, a distortion of reality occurs.
The first alarm bell in psychoorganic syndrome is uncriticalness to one's own behavior, inadequacy of the assessment of events around. The patient seems to distinguish good from bad, but only in an abstracted way, and in a certain situation he becomes tactless and selfish. A person's circle of interests is sharply narrowed, he cannot perceive what is happening as a whole, but considers only its fragments. The ability to prioritize is impaired, speech becomes poor, and sentences become short and monosyllabic. It is difficult for the patient to express his thoughts, and he often resorts to formulaic phrases. It becomes more and more difficult for the patient to demonstrate his own emotions adequately to what is happening. Sudden violent surges are observed for no apparent reason or for minor reasons.
Stages
The development of the psychoorganic syndrome goes through 4 phases: asthenic, explosive, euphoric and apathetic. The first stage is characterized by rapid moral and physical fatigue, emotional instability, increased threshold of sensitivity and irritability. Conditional intellectual and mnestic disorders are not yet so noticeable, but mental productivity is slowly declining. The patient suffers from mild memory disorder and forgetfulness. Meteorological dependence is clearly manifested, and in a mild form of psychoorganic syndrome, the patient feels unwell during a change in the weather, and in a severe one - in advance.
The second, explosive stage of the psychoorganic syndrome is characterized by increased irritability, anger, paroxysmal aggressiveness and emotional excitability. The patient can go into hysterics for any reason, when what is happening does not suit him. The memory is getting worse, the will, the ability to control oneself and adapt to the situation decreases. If at this stage the patient resorts to alcohol, which is often the case, the psychoorganic syndrome is aggravated. At the same time, the disease contributes to a more rapid emergence of alcohol dependence. Some patients become prone to paranoia and litigation.
Then comes the euphoric phase, the main difference of which is the change in the prevailing affect. The patient has a complacent and elevated mood, and this condition can appear interspersed with aggressiveness and tearful tantrums. Self-criticism continues to decline, and memory deteriorates. In addition, attraction is disinhibited. Some patients develop violent laughter or crying, the seal of which remains on the patient's face for a long time.
The last stage - apathetic - is characterized by a loss of spontaneity, indifference to change. Asthenia, violent laughing or crying persists, and dementia (dementia) may occur.
Treatment
Upon establishing the diagnosis of psychoorganic syndrome, the patient is referred to specialists in order to identify the underlying disease, which became the root cause. Consultations in such cases are provided by a neurologist, vascular surgeon, infectious disease specialist, venereologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist and gastroenterologist. Additional studies are performed, including MRI of the brain and EEG. Next, a treatment plan is drawn up with the use of nootropic drugs, vitamin complexes, antioxidants, drugs to improve cerebral circulation or antipsychotics. According to the results of the treatment of pathology, stabilization or gradual aggravation of symptoms may occur.
