[Hypothalamo-mesencephalic crises in endocrine diseases]

Altogether 261 patients with different vegetative crises were investigated by clinico-neurologic, electro-, rheo-, echoencephalographic methods. The most frequent causes of crises (in 140 patients) were disorders of the hypothalamic and hypothalamo-mesencephalic sections of the brain. In the rest of the patients crises were caused by neuroses, disorders of the caudal zones of the brain stem and temporal region, pheochromocytoma, insulinoma, primary hyperaldosteronism, hypoparathyroidism and other diseases. Criteria of differential diagnosis of hypothalamic crises and crises in neuroses, disorders of the distal sections of the brain stem and temporal lobe epilepsy were specified. Some new, quite informative clinico-neurological and rheo- and electroencephalographic criteria were proposed for the differentiation of hypothalamic crises and crises in pheochromocytoma, insulinoma and primary hyperaldosteronism.