Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-26T20:42:31.063Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Vorbeireden. Could it be Ganser Syndrome?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

J. Petta*
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
A. L. Falcão
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
G. Soares
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
A. Lourenço
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Ganser syndrome is described as a dissociative disorder not otherwise specified in the DSM-IV, and is not currently listed in the DSM-V.

It is a rare condition, with transient Vorbeireden as the central symptom. This means the patient responds to questions with an incorrect answer, but by the nature of the answer reveals an understanding of the question posed.

This disorder was first described by the German psychiatrist Sigbert Ganser in 1898.

Objectives

Analyze case reports published in the available literature and intelligibly characterize their clinical presentation and dissect the etiopathogenesis of the disease.

Methods

Data was obtained through an internet-based literature search, using the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library and NCBI. The World Health Organization was also utilized. Seven articles from the last four years were included.

Results

The core clinical features of this syndrome are approximate answers, clouding of consciousness, somatic conversion symptoms and hallucinations. However, they are all not needed for diagnosis.

The basic underlying etiology of Ganser syndrome is still unknown. Debates over the factitious versus psychiatric versus organic origin of the symptomatology are common in the literature.

No reliable epidemiological data can be established.

Conclusions

The condition is a rare, probably dissociative, with transient Vorbeireden as the central symptom.

Although the research interest in dissociative disorders, the etiopathogenetic models remain hypothetical. Detailed imaging, neuropsychological and neurological data are required.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.