Nervous System Disorders

Certain gastrointestinal disorders could present with a diverse number of neurological signs and symptoms resembling different neurological conditions. In a distinct number of patients, the first sign of underlying gastrointestinal disease could be a neurological sign or symptom indicating a neurological problem. There are some specific neurological symptoms which are frequently seen with distinct gastrointestinal disorders, but in many other cases no specific sign or symptom could lead a neurologist to a suspicion on a gastrointestinal disorder which is most frequently diagnosed only after all neurological causes of patients′ symptoms have been excluded. On the other hand, gastrointestinal disorders of unknown cause could sometimes resemble certain neurological disorders. Hence, it is important for both gastroenterologists and neurologists to be familiar with conditions which could present with symptoms characteristic of both systems. In this chapter, we will present the most frequent conditions in which symptoms overlap between neurology and gastroenterology.