[Bromide encephalopathies (author's transl)].

Abstract

Bromide encephalopathies are frequently reported in Northern America and Great Britain. There is no characteristic clinical pattern, the neurological symptoms are multiple, this is readily explained by the diffusion of bromide ions to all regions in the central nervous system. An accurate history (bromide intake, followed by the slow onset of digestive and neuropsychiatric symptoms) as well as an apparent hyperchloremia are of the greatest aid in suggesting the diagnosis. The incidence of this type of intoxication is greater in women over 50. The association of a salt free diet to bromide therapy favors the onset of clinical symptoms because of the competition between bromide and chloride at the choroid plexus and at the renal tubule.