For a diagnosis of Mental retardation, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Mental retardation:
The other diseases for which Mental retardation is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:
Causes of Mental retardation may include these medical conditions:
Related medical mistakes may include:
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Rare copper disease insidious and misdiagnosed: Wilson's disease (a form of copper overload) is a rare disorder that has a slow and insidious onset that can often fail to be diagnosed. Copper builds up in the liver and in the brain, usually in the late childhood, teens, or 20's. Brain changes can lead to a variety of neurological and psychological type symptoms, such as speech symptoms, language difficulty, behavioral symptoms, and various others. Possible misdiagnoses include depression, behavioral disorders, schizophrenia, mental retardation, learning difficulty, anxiety disorders, hysteria, and other psychological disorders. Physical symptoms related to liver damage, such as jaundice, often appear later, leading to the delayed diagnosis. See overview of Wilson's disease.
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to speak. This was initially misdiagnosed as a "nervous breakdown" and other mental conditions. He was later diagnosed as having had a stroke, and suffering from aphasia (inability to speak), a well-known complication of stroke (or other brain conditions).
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease, it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs that the elderly patient may be taking. There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been overlooked throughout childhood. There are as many as 8 million adults with ADHD in the USA (about 1 in 25 adults in the USA). See misdiagnosis of ADHD or symptoms of ADHD.
Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care physicians. Many patients with bipolar seek help from their physician, rather than a psychiatrist or psychologist. See misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or have a delayed diagnosis. See misdiagnosis of eating disorders or symptoms of eating disorders.
Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to be overlooked. See misdiagnosis of depression or symptoms of depression.
Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders). Failure to diagnose these anxiety disorders may worsen the depression. See misdiagnosis of depression or misdiagnosis of anxiety disorders.
Early assessment for cretinism: Cretinism is a condition which occurs due to the lack of thyroid hormones which is essential for the growth and development of infants and children. It occurs due to the inability of the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. Thyroxine is an important hormone which is required for myelination of the neurons in the brain lack of the hormone causes severe mental retardation, slow speech and body movements, thick tongue, flat nose, waxy skin, dull facial appearance and stunted growth which give the appearance of a dwarf. Cretinism causes very serious retardation of physical and mental development early diagnosis is needed so that thyroxine can be supplemented and the child can have a normal growth. If the condition commences after adulthood is reached it is called myxedema. The condition can be assessed as soon as the child is born by taking a sample of the cord blood for testing.
Autism is a developmental abnormality: Autism occurs due to developmental abnormality. There is scope for improvement, but not full recovery, provided children are provided appropriate intervention at the earliest possible age. Some conditions maybe confusingly similar to autism and hence autism may be misdiagnosed as childhood schizophrenia, hearing loss, mental retardation and Landau Kleffner syndrome. The most effective treatment to date is early educational intervention.
Mental retardation in Tuberous sclerosis: Tuberous sclerosis is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder. It includes mental retardation, seizures and skin lesions. The symptoms may not be seen till late childhood. Seizures are the most common presentation and often treated for the same. Skin lesions often present as leafy shaped lesions seen on cheeks, forehead along with reddish nodules over the nose. Mental retardation and skin lesions are often missed during the diagnosis and hence the diagnosis of tuberous sclerosis is missed. Surgery may be required for cosmetic reasons and removal of the tumor may be necessary in case of pressure symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment helps in detection for the future offspring.
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
The following medical news items are relevant to misdiagnosis of Mental retardation:
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Mental retardation or confirming a diagnosis of Mental retardation, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Mental retardation may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Mental retardation. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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