Idiopathic Orthostatic Hypotension

Abstract

ALTHOUGH neurologic manifestations associated with what is now called idiopathic orthostatic hypotension (IOH) were first mentioned nearly half a century ago,¹ it has been only in the last decade that the neurologic picture has emerged more clearly. Symptoms and signs referable to the somatic nervous system may vary from patient to patient, but in the advanced stages of the disease they seem to pattern themselves into a discernible neurologic syndrome. While the clinical entity of IOH has become much better known recently, the neurologic symptoms and signs are not always recognized as a part of the syndrome. In 1963, we reported our initial experience with the somatic neurologic picture occurring in IOH.² Since then, an increasing number of patients with this interesting mixture of autonomic and somatic neurologic manifestations has been recognized at this clinic. Inasmuch as our earlier report was based on preliminary data, it seemed