First described by sigbert ganser in 1987, ganser syndrome consists in a rare condition, characterized by the following four clinical features. It is characterized by nonsensical or wrong answers to questions or doing things incorrectly. Gansers syndrome is a rare and controversial entity in psychiatric nosology. Ganser syndrome is a disorder that is extremely rare and also goes by the names pseudodementia, nonsense syndrome, hysterical pseudodementia, syndrome of approximate answers, etc. The ganser syndrome in two adolescent brothers sciencedirect. Ganser s syndrome is a rare and controversial condition, whose main and most striking feature is the production of approximate answers or near misses to very simple questions. Know the causes, symptoms, treatment and diagnosis of ganser syndrome. Ganser syndrome gansers syndrome, hysterical pseudodementia, nonsense syndrome, prison psychosis, syndrome of approximate answers is a kind of. Gansers syndrome is a rare and controversial condition, whose main and most striking feature is the production of approximate answers or near misses to very simple questions. While whitlock 1967 held that the presence of approximate answers is the essential. The patient will offer nearly correct replies when asked questions about facts of common knowledge, such as the number of days in a year, the number of months in a year. The syndrome is very rare and primarily affects males.
A relationship was found between specific premorbid personality traits and severity of the syndrome. For instance, asked how many legs a horse has, ganser patients will. Ganser syndrome medical education for undergraduate md. Ganser syndrome wiktionary wiktionary, the free dictionary. The anomaly is defined as the presence of approximate answers with hallucinations, clouded sensorium, somatic conversion, and amnesia. Physical examination was unremarkable, but a urine toxicology screen was positive for both cannabis and ecstasy. Whether ganser syndrome is primarily a hysterical or an organic phenomenon has been debated in the literature. Article information, pdf download for the ganser syndrome. Webmd explains a rare disorder known as ganser syndrome, in which people mimic the symptoms of serious mental illnesses to draw. In this case history, which shows the clinical features of the ganser syndrome, there was abundant evidence to support both an organic and an hysterical aetiology. A factitious disorder, characterised by the individual mimicking behaviour he or she thinks is typical of a psychosis, providing nonsensical or wrong answers to questions, and doing things incorrectly. After rapid resolution in two weeks, ganser symptoms reappear seven months later accompanied, this second time, by previous depressive symptoms. Carcinoid syndrome can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other more common conditions.
Ganser syndrome, trance logic, and the question of malingering. Although considered to be essential for the diagnosis, approximate answers were cited as occurring in only 83 88. The ganser syndrome is rare in children and adolescents. Your doctor may first administer a 24hour urine test or blood test to determine the levels of a metabolite of serotonin called 5hiaa. Ganser syndrome is a rare dissociative disorder characterized by nonsensical or wrong. Malingered intentionally wrong, but often approximate, answers in an apparent effort to simulate psychosis. It is characterized by nonsensical or wrong answers to questions or doing things incorrectly, other dissociative symptoms such as fugue, amnesia or conversion disorder, often with visual pseudohallucinations and a decreased state of consciousness. Although the formulation of these criteria have been valuable in educating people in the field, their use as a tool has been somewhat limited due to the unclear nature of which criteria are. The characteristic symptom of the syndrome, paralogia, is appreciated as an associated feature of factitious disorder with psychological symptoms. The syndrome is not listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders,fifth edition dsm5 as it had been in previous editions. The anomaly is defined as the presence of approximate answers with hallucinations, clouded sensorium, somatic conversion, and. Ganser syndrome synonyms, ganser syndrome antonyms. Gansers syndrome is a factitious disorder, characterised by the individual mimicking behaviour they think are typical of a psychosis, by providing nonsensical or wrong answers to questions, and doing things incorrectly.
Ganser syndrome is a rare dissociative disorder previously classified as a factitious disorder. Ganser syndrome and lesion in the temporoparietal region ncbi. This report raises the possibility of the ganser syndrome as a manifestation of a. It is not clear why the authors felt that those individuals who did not display approximate answers had ganser. Ganser syndrome is a form of mental disorder in which the affected individual acts in a conscious manner in such as a way that he or she is terrible sick or unwell to gain attention when in fact the individual is perfectly normal. A case of the ganser syndrome in a 14yearold girl, with three of the four essential features, is presented. Ganzer syndrome definition of ganzer syndrome by medical. Questions about its etiology, definition, and classification, as well as its status as a true mental illness versus a specific form of malingering has been the subject of multiple journal articles and book chapters.
Carcinoid syndrome is caused by excess serotonin and other chemicals that are secreted by tumor cells. Ideal sources for wikipedia s health content are defined in the guideline wikipedia. Case report of ganser syndrome in a 14yearold girl. Ganser syndrome, as it is now known, has been the subject of much debate since this original paper. Ganser syndrome article about ganser syndrome by the. Pdf the ganser syndrome, or talking past the point, originally. Ganser syndrome meaning ganser syndrome definition gans. Ganser syndrome gahnser, a psychoticlike condition, without the. The aetiological dilemma is discussed, and the case illustrates some of the problems of nosology, clinical presentation, and psychopathology that this syndrome raises.
A 45yearold south african man was admitted to a neurology ward with a left hemiparesis and a 4day history of amnesia and wandering. Ganser syndrome ganser syndrome, as it is now known, has been the subject of much debate since this original paper. Resolution of episode of major depressive disorder with. Ganser syndrome is a rare type of condition in which a person deliberately and consciously acts as if he or she has a physical or mental illness when he or she is not really sick. The past and present nosology of gansers syndrome is discussed. Ganser symptom complex the features of the syndrome considered were those cited by enoch and trethowan. The syndrome has also been called nonsense syndrome, balderdash syndrome, syndrome of approximate. Ganser syndrome meaning ganser syndrome definition ganser. It is characterized by the individual mimicking behavior they think is typical of a psychosis. However, there have been cases with both hysterical and organic elements. Ganser syndrome uncountable a rare stressinduced dissociative disorder characterized by giving nonsensical answers to questions. Ganser syndrome definition of ganser syndrome by medical. The answers given, however, are usually so close to the question as to reveal that. After recovery from gansers syndrome, these cases were followedup for two and five years, respectively.
Ganser syndrome is a rare dissociative disorder characterized by nonsensical or wrong answers to questions and other dissociative symptoms such as fugue, amnesia or conversion disorder, often with visual pseudohallucinations and a decreased state of consciousness. The trip database provides clinical publications about. It has been reported in association with various functional psychiatric disorders and organic states, most often. The diagnosis of ganser syndrome in the practice of. More publications are needed on gs to clarify its nature and investigate its treatment and uncertain prognosis. Since it is not a common mental illness, not even 100 cases have been reported, according to a case study published by the american academy of child and adolescent. Ganser syndrome is generally considered rare, but estimates of its prevalence depend upon the strictness of the diagnostic criteria used in reporting it haddad, 1993. The ganser syndrome is rare in children and in adolescents. It is also sometimes called nonsense syndrome, balderdash syndrome, syndrome of approximate answers, pseudodementia, hysterical. The syndrome has also been called nonsense syndrome, balderdash syndrome, syndrome of approximate answers, hysterical. Ganser syndrome is a dissociative disorder that was previously thought to be a factitious disorder, where the patient displays symptoms of a physical or mental illness when no real condition is present. Ganser syndrome and its management volume 151 issue 5 m.
We report two cases ofgs, one developing in a 12yearold boy, which had their onset during an episode of mania. Using the diagnostic criteria found in the literature, 15 new cases of ganser syndrome were examined. Learn about gansers syndrome, a type of fictitious disorder. Article pdf available in journal of medical humanities. A personality disorder in which the patient describes dramatic but false symptoms or simulates acute illness, happily undergoing examinations, hospitalization, and diagnostic and therapeutic manipulations, and upon discovery of the real nature of his case often leaves without notice and moves on to another hospital. During admission his consciousness fluctuated, and although extensive investigation revealed no organic cause for his symptoms he was given a course.
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