MUNCHAUSEN-SYNDROME MUNCHAUSEN-SYNDROME BY PROXY

Munchausen syndrome (MS) is characterized by patients' chronic and rel entless pursuit of medical treatment for combinations of symptoms of c onsciously self-inflicted injury and falsely reported symptomatology. MS patients are adults, as are perpetrators of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP). MSBP is an unusual form of child abuse in which a parent , usually the mother, brings a child for medical attention with sympto ms falsified or directly induced by the mother. Most reports of MSBP h ave been of a few cases appearing in medical and pediatric literature. Motivation in both disorders is unclear, and diagnosis and treatment present difficult problems that require more research.