NEUROLOGICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC MANIFESTATIONS OF GASTROINTESTINAL-DISEASES

Gastroenterologic disorders which are responsible for less than 1 % of all inpatient admissions in a neurological hospital are nevertheless significant because many of them are amenable to successful therapy. They lead to neuropsychiatric symptomatology via hypovitaminoses, electrolyte imbalance, toxic, immunologic or (as with helminthoses) direct mechanisms. However, a large proportion of signs and symptoms is still unexplained pathogenetically. Clinically encephalopathies, myelopathies, myopathies, polyneuropathies or combinations thereof prevail, which are little specific per se. Therefore the internal symptomatology has always to be kept in mind or sought after Since sometimes psychiatric prodromi or exclusive neuropsychiatric manifestations are met it is important to think early of the possibility of a gastrointestinal disease in order not to miss internal diagnosis and specific therapy at the earliest possible point.