Oligophrenia
Oligophrenia is a congenital or early acquired dementia, manifested in the underdevelopment of the intellect and the psyche as a whole. Oligophrenia is not a progredient process, but a consequence of a transferred illness. The degree of mental deficiency is estimated quantitatively with the help of an intellectual coefficient according to standard psychological tests. Oligophrenia is often accompanied by vices of physical development.
Etiology. The reasons for oligophrenia are:
- Hereditary factors, including pathology of generative cells of parents (this group of oligophrenia includes Down's disease, true microcephaly, enzymatic forms);
- Intrauterine infection of the embryo and fetus (hormonal disorders, rubella and other viral infections, congenital syphilis, toxoplasmosis);
- Harmful factors of the perinatal period and the first 3 years of life (asphyxia of the fetus and newborn, birth trauma, immunological incompatibility of blood of the mother and fetus - rhesus-factor conflict, head trauma in early childhood, childhood infections, congenital hydrocephalus).
Idiocy is the deepest degree of oligophrenia, characterized by an almost complete absence of speech and thought. Idiots can not make meaningful activities. Emotional life is exhausted by the primitive reactions of pleasure and displeasure. In some, maliciously angry outbreaks prevail, others have lethargy and indifference to everything around them. Idiots say only individual sounds and words, often do not understand the speech of others, do not distinguish relatives from outsiders. They do not have basic skills of self-service, they can not eat on their own, sometimes they do not even chew food, untidy, they need constant care and supervision.
Imbecility is the average degree of oligophrenia. Imbeciles understand the speech of others, they can themselves pronounce short phrases. Some imbeciles are able to perform elementary counting operations, assimilate the simplest work skills and self-service skills. The emotions of imbeciles are more differentiated, they are attached to their relatives, they respond adequately to praise or blame. The thinking of imbeciles is primitive, they are deprived of initiative, inert, suggestible, easily lost when the situation changes, they need constant supervision and care.
Degeneracy is the easiest degree of dementia. Morons usually graduate from a secondary school, able to lead an independent life. They have a particular descriptive type of thinking, while the ability to abstract is almost absent. Some morons with a delay in general mental development and low productivity of thinking are characterized by partial giftedness (excellent mechanical or visual memory, the ability to produce complex arithmetic operations in the mind, etc.). Among the morons distinguish eretichnyh (excitable), flaccid apathetic, maliciously stubborn, vindictive and torpid (inhibited).
Diagnosis. Difficulties in the diagnosis of oligophrenia can arise when it is necessary to differentiate from early-onset schizophrenia. In contrast to oligophrenics in schizophrenic patients, developmental delay has a partial, dissociated character; Along with this in the clinical picture, a number of endogenous manifestations characteristic of autism, pathological fantasies, and catatonic symptoms are revealed.
Oligophrenia is also differentiated from dementia, acquired dementia, in which, as a rule, elements of existing knowledge are revealed, a greater variety of emotional manifestations, relatively rich vocabulary, and a preserved tendency to abstract constructions.
Treatment. Specific therapy is performed for certain types of oligophrenia with established etiology (congenital syphilis, toxoplasmosis, etc.); When oligophrenia associated with metabolic disorders (phenylketonuria, etc.), appoint diet; With endocrinopathies (cretinism, myxedema) - hormonal treatment. To stimulate mental activity, use piracetam, aminalone (gamma-lon), as well as other psychoactivating agents and B vitamins. Drugs are also prescribed for the correction of affective lability and suppression of perverted drives (neuleptil, phenazepam, sonapaks). Healing and educational measures, labor training and professional adaptation are of great importance for compensation of an oligophrenic defect.
In the rehabilitation and social adaptation of oligophrenics, along with health authorities, auxiliary schools, boarding schools, specialized vocational schools, workshops for the mentally retarded, etc. play a role.
Prevention of some hereditary forms of oligophrenia begins during pregnancy: examination of pregnant women for the detection of syphilis, toxoplasmosis, rhesusotritsatelnogo factor in the blood; Prevention of rubella and other viral infections; Skilled care during childbirth, as well as preventing injuries and severe infections in newborns and young children.
- Mental illnesses
- Neuroses
- Cenestatically-hypochondriacal syndrome
- Symptomatic psychosis
- Alcoholism
- Amnestic (Korsakov) syndrome
- Affective syndromes
- Delusional syndromes
- Hallucinatory syndrome (hallucinosis)
- Mental defect
- Intoxication psychosis
- Hysterical Syndrome
- Catatonic Syndromes
- Affective insanity
- Obsessions
- Distraction of consciousness
- Presenile (pre-virial, involutional) psychosis
- Psycho-organic syndrome
- Psychopathy
- Reactive psychosis
- Supervaluable ideas
- Senile psychosis
- Substance abuse and addiction
- Traumatic encephalopathy
- Schizophrenia
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