Functional Somatic Syndromes Etiology, Diagnosis and Treatment [Paperback]

Comprehensive clinically-oriented review of these medically unexplained disorders.Functional somatic syndromes are common and disabling physical complaints, now recognized as legitimate diseases despite a lack of medical explanation.For each of the nine most common syndromes, expert authors provide a brief historical perspective, a current definition, a case presentation, confirmatory and contradictory research findings, a discussion of the leading pathogenetic hypotheses, and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Advice is given for the determination of disability of patients, and both medical and psychiatric interventions are described.Functional somatic syndromes are common and disabling physical complaints, now recognized as legitimate diseases despite a lack of medical explanation.For each of the nine most common syndromes, expert authors provide a brief historical perspective, a current definition, a case presentation, confirmatory and contradictory research findings, a discussion of the leading pathogenetic hypotheses, and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Advice is given for the determination of disability of patients, and both medical and psychiatric interventions are described.Functional somatic syndromes are defined as physical syndromes without an organic disease explanation, demonstrable structural changes, or established biochemical abnormalities. This book reviews the state of scientific and clinical understanding of the nine most common functional somatic syndromes. For each syndrome, expert contributors provide a brief historical perspective, a current definition, a case presentation, confirmatory and contradictory research findings, a discussion of the leading pathogenetic hypotheses, and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Chapters offer advice for the determination of disability of patients with these medically unexplained disorders, while describing both medical and psychiatric interventions. Stressing the importance of a sound therlS(