Organic Brain Syndrome

Organic brain syndrome (OBS) is a general term that describes physical conditions that might result in damage to the brain. It does not refer to any particular disease. It is used for describing decreased mental function and impairment of cognitive abilities. This term was conceptualized by the psychiatrists for diagnosing the conditions of the brain. If during the diagnosis, psychiatrists couldn't observe any physical damage to the brain, they referred to the disorder as a functional disorder. When they found changes in the physical condition of the brain, they classified such conditions under the organic brain syndrome. Narrowing down the diagnosis to a specific disorder thus helped in ascertaining the treatment.

Symptoms of OBS

Since OBS is not a specific disease, the symptoms will vary and depend on the diagnosis. Many disorders associated with this syndrome might have some symptoms in common, therefore, the task of ascertaining the specific disorder becomes even more important. Once the disorder has been diagnosed correctly, the doctors can proceed with the treatment. Some common symptoms of this syndrome are:

• Confusion
• Dementia
• Agitation
• Impairment of cognitive functions
• Delirium

Causes of OBS

Though OBS is seen to affect the elderly, it is not specifically related to aging. The common causes are trauma, exposure to neurotoxins and brain injuries. OBS can be classified into acute OBS and chronic OBS. If a person is diagnosed with chronic OBS, his/her cognitive abilities and brain function will undergo changes with time. These changes could be both neurological or psychological in nature. The symptoms might include loss of memory, difficulty in walking or speaking, damage to intellectual abilities, agitation or personality changes. In case of acute organic syndrome, you might experience a sudden onset of symptoms. Sometimes, acute OBS can be caused due to intoxication, drug overdose, infections or other conditions that may have an effect on the brain's function. Though acute organic syndrome is temporary but this could take the form of chronic OBS due to release of certain toxins by overuse of certain drugs. In some cases, excessive intake of alcohol could lead to alcoholic dementia.

Disorders Associated with OBS

Several degenerative diseases, infections, breathing conditions, traumatic brain injury or cardiovascular disorders are linked to this syndrome. Infections such as septicemia, meningitis and encephalitis, and medical disorders such as nutritional deficiencies, metabolic disorders, endocrine abnormalities, liver disease and kidney diseases are associated with it. It is also linked to cardiovascular disorders such as a stroke, abnormal heart rhythm, heart infection, dementia due to many strokes and hypertensive brain injury. Respiratory conditions such as hypoxia (decreased oxygen levels in the body) or hypercapnia (increased carbon dioxide levels in the body) can also aggravate this syndrome. Some degenerative brain disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, Pick disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeld-Jacob disease are also related to this syndrome. Clinical depression and various types of psychoses or neuroses could also occur in a person diagnosed with this syndrome. In case of children, OBS could exist in various types of dementia such as Niemann-Pick disease, Batten disease and Lafora body disease. Being associated with such a large number of disorders adds an element of vagueness to this term, and has therefore, made this term obsolete to some extent.

CT scan, brain MRI scan, EEG (electroencephalogram) and blood tests are some of the diagnostic tests and procedures that can help doctors to narrow down the diagnosis to a particular disorder that may be categorized under OBS. Doctors can then prescribe drugs for the treatment of that disorder. In case of chronic OBS, loss of brain function and personality changes make it extremely important to monitor the health of patient and provide them support.