[Meningioma in psychiatry. Clinico-pathologic contribution to differential cerebral organic psychosyndrome diagnosis in middle and advanced age].

A clinico-pathological follow-up of mentally ill patients of the Rheinische Landesklinik Düsseldorf between 1960 and 1984 revealed intracranial space-occupying processes in 47 of 1023 post mortem examinations (4.6%). 9 of the 47 cases (19%) were meningiomas. 5 patients of those clinically not diagnosed as having meningioma had signs of raised intracranial pressure at post mortem, in 4 others the meningioma was in incidental finding of presumably lacking clinical significance. 4 other meningioma patients were diagnosed while alive; 2 of them were operated on the tumor. Short- and longterm psychiatric features of meningioma patients bear many similarities with mental symptoms due to other causes in middle and old age with also similar problems in differential diagnosis. There is no raised incidence of meningioma among patients presenting psychiatrically. "Endoform" features in psychopathology are rarely encountered in meningioma patients. According to the pertinent literature an operation in due time ameliorates or abolishes predominantly psychiatric illness in about 80% of meningioma patients.