["Zurich Vertigo Meeting"--phobic postural vertigo]

Abstract

Phobic postural vertigo has been described as a syndrome that is distinguishable from agoraphobia, acrophobia, and "space phobia". Closely related to locomotion, it is characterized by a combination of nonrotational vertigo with subjective postural and gait instability mainly in patients with an obsessive-compulsive personality. The monosymptomatic disturbance of balance manifests with superimposed attacks that occur with and without recognizable provoking factors in the same patient and are experienced with and without accompanying excess anxiety, misleading both patient and physician to a false diagnosis of organic disease.