Session Information
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2018
Session Title: Phenomenology and Clinical Assessment Of Movement Disorders
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Hall 3FG
Objective: To study the differences in demographics, symptom characteristics, levels of impairment and motor symptom overlap between functional motor symptom phenotypes.
Background: The longstanding discussion if functional symptoms should be split into different categories or lumped together, is also clinically relevant within functional motor disorders. A large prospective cohort of functional motor disorders patients provided the opportunity to study if different functional motor symptoms should be split into different categories, based on clinically relevant differences.
Methods: Baseline data gathered for the ongoing Self-Help and Education on the Internet for Functional Motor Disorders Trial (SHIFT) (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02589886) was used for this study. Patients were divided into five main motor symptom groups: tremor, myoclonus, dystonia, paresis and gait disorder, based on diagnosis of the referring neurologist. Data was collected by means of an online questionnaire. Demographics, levels of impairment, symptom characteristics, non-motor features and motor symptom overlap were compared between groups.
Results: Out of 186 patients included in the SHIFT study, 160 patients could be divided into main motor symptom groups. No statistically significant differences were found concerning age, gender, duration of symptoms, duration of symptom onset, mode of onset and the level of pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms and anxiety. There were significant differences between groups on physical functioning (p=0.003) and work and social adjustment scores (p<0.001), which were lower in gait disorder and paresis patients.
Conclusions: We found no evidence for splitting functional motor symptoms into different categories, based on similar demographics and symptom onset and duration, similar severity of non-motor features fatigue, pain, depression and anxiety and large motor symptom overlap. Patients with functional paresis or gait disorder as a main motor symptom do appear to have more severe impairment of daily functioning. Generally, attention should be payed to the high prevalence of pain and fatigue and the large impairment of daily living that was present in the majority of patients.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
J. Gelauff, J. Rosmalen, J. Stone, J. Gardien, M. Tijssen. Functional motor disorders phenotypes. Lumping or splitting? [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2018; 33 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/functional-motor-disorders-phenotypes-lumping-or-splitting/. Accessed May 13, 2025.« Back to 2018 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/functional-motor-disorders-phenotypes-lumping-or-splitting/