Session Information
Date: Monday, September 23, 2019
Session Title: Functional (Psychogenic) Movement Disorders
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Les Muses Terrace, Level 3
Objective: To compare the clinical management, available resources and barriers to care for patients with functional movement disorders (FMD) across 15 countries around the globe.
Background: FMD is a common condition whose management is thought to benefit from a multidisciplinary approach, involving experts in neurology, psychiatry/psychology, and rehabilitation medicine. However, there is significant variability around the globe in terms of the clinical management and available resources for patients with this chronic and disabling condition.
Method: A group of experts from 15 countries spread across 5 continents and spanning a variety of cultural backgrounds, healthcare systems and levels of economic development (Australia, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, U.S.A., and Zambia) outlined the typical diagnostic and treatment pathway for patients with FMD in their respective countries. Access to resources, barriers to optimal care, and proposed solutions were also identified.
Results: Clinical management and available resources vary considerably across different countries, with variability in access to and cost of care as well as cultural attitudes of patients and providers towards FMD. Countries with relatively easy access to specialist services cited difficulties in establishing integrated therapeutic plans, paucity of multidisciplinary FMD clinics, lack of familiarity with FMD among treating healthcare professionals, and lack of national guidelines as major service gaps. Countries with more limited access to neurology services also cited lack of access to specialized providers (including neurologists, psychiatrists and psychologists) and significant stigma towards mental illness as additional barriers to care.
Conclusion: The following recommendations were made with the goal of improving the care of and outcomes for patients with FMD around the globe: (1) education to increase awareness of FMD among healthcare providers and the public; (2) development of standardized consensus recommendations aimed at educating healthcare professionals on appropriate diagnosis and treatment practices; and (3) creation of well-integrated multidisciplinary FMD teams/clinics.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
C. Maurer, D. Anderson, A. Asadi-Pooya, J. Baizabal, M. Damianova, C. Ganos, R. Kanaan, M. Tijssen, J. Kwasa, I. Moreno, S. Pandey, JE. Park, D. Saylor, M. Stamelou, C. Stephen, T. Teodoro, M. Tinazzi, K. Lafaver. Management of Patients with Functional Movement Disorders: A Transcultural Perspective [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/management-of-patients-with-functional-movement-disorders-a-transcultural-perspective/. Accessed May 9, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/management-of-patients-with-functional-movement-disorders-a-transcultural-perspective/