[Neurological and somatoform vertigo syndromes]

Vertigo is one of the most common cardinal symptoms encountered in the practice of general medicine and after headache the most frequent major complaint in neurology. The various vertigo syndromes should be differentiated according to organic and somatoform manifestations. Unfortunately, somatoform vertigo disorders are often not included in the differential diagnosis or be-latedly considered, which delays the diagnosis. This compounds the tendency of vertigo disorders to rapidly become chronic and frequently results in severe impairment of the patient's quality of life, even precipitating early retirement and incurring high costs for health care systems. Hence, in cases of complex vertigo disorders, early interdisciplinary cooperation is both helpful and essential during diagnostic work-up to include signs of somatic and psychosomatic origin.