Attachment styles, identification of feelings and psychiatric symptoms in functional neurological disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The contribution of psychological and psychiatric symptoms in the development of Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) is unclear. We therefore aimed to investigate the role of different attachment styles (AS) and their relationship with psychiatric symptoms in FND patients as compared with both subjects with neurological disorders (ND) and healthy controls (HC); and the possible differences between patients with functional movement disorders (FMD) and with functional seizures. METHODS: In this case-control study, forty-six patients with FND were compared to 34 with ND and 30 HC, by means of an extensive battery to investigate the presence of alexithymia, depression, anxiety, dissociation and to explore their AS using the Revised Experiences in Close Relationships instrument (ECR-R). RESULTS: Patients with FND had higher depression and alexithymia as well as an avoidant pattern on the ECR-R than patients with ND. In the FND group, ECR-R avoidance was an independent predictor of psychiatric symptoms and, altogether, ECR-R avoidance, the somatic-affective component of depression and difficulty identifying feelings were independent predictors of FND. Gender, anxiety and difficulty identifying feelings predicted the presence of functional seizures. CONCLUSION: The avoidant AS may be an important psychological factor influencing the presence of mood disorders and alexithymia. Their co-occurence might drive maladaptive responses underlying the presence of FND. Although we demonstrated a large overlap between FND phenotypes, patients with functional seizures might have higher alexithymia, which in turn could explain a defensive response less anchored to body reactions and physical symptoms.

Symptom severity in patients with functional motor symptoms: Patient's perception and doctor's clinical assessment.

BACKGROUND: Beliefs and expectations about symptoms and an abnormal direction of attention towards the body have been proposed as important mechanistic factors in the pathophysiology of functional motor symptoms (FMS). We therefore aimed to evaluate patients' awareness/perception of the presence and severity of their own symptoms before and while watching themselves in a video and to compare this with doctors' assessment of the presence and severity of FMS, based on video evaluation. METHODS: We evaluated 16 patients affected by FMS. Patients were invited to give a "subjective evaluation" of their symptoms. Afterwards, patients were invited to watch a video of themselves and to judge the presence of symptoms in the different body parts and, if so, to rate the severity. Patients' videos were also assessed by a rater with expertise in FMS. RESULTS: Patients judged their symptoms to be more severe on subjective evaluation than when viewing a video of themselves (p = 0.002; t = 3.656). Subjective evaluation of symptom severity by patients was higher than that of raters viewing a video of the patient (p < 0.001, t = 4.860), but there was only a trend towards a difference between video ratings of severity by patients and independent raters (p = 0.017, t = 2.962 with p set at 0.016 according to Bonferroni correction). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that patients with FMS tend to overestimate the severity of their symptoms compared independent rating. However, when viewing a video of themselves they rated their symptoms as less severe and closer to those of independent raters.

Outcomes of a 5-day physiotherapy programme for functional (psychogenic) motor disorders.

Patients with functional motor disorder (FMD) are commonly seen by physiotherapists and there is growing evidence to support a physical rehabilitation approach. There are, however, few descriptions in the literature of the content of successful physiotherapy treatment. This prospective cohort study reports the practicalities and outcomes of a pilot 5-day physiotherapy programme. Patients were referred from a specialist movement disorders clinic. The treatment consisted of education and movement retraining, with a long-term self-management focus. Education and movement retraining was based on a pathophysiological model for FMD that stresses the importance of self-focussed attention and illness belief. Patients were assessed at baseline, end of treatment and 3-month follow-up. 47 patients completed the programme, mean symptom duration was 5.5 years, 64 % were unemployed due to ill health. At the end of treatment, 65 % rated their symptoms as "very much improved" or "much improved", this reduced to 55 % at 3 months. At follow-up, there was a significant improvement in physical domains of the SF-36, Berg Balance Scale and 10 Metre Timed Walk. Measures of mental health did not change. This prospective cohort study adds to the growing evidence that supports the use of specialist physiotherapy treatment for FMD. Improvements here were made despite the cohort having characteristics associated with poor prognosis. We argue that specific treatment techniques are important and have the potential to improve physical function, quality of life and may prove to be a cost-effective treatment for selected patients with FMD.

A positive diagnosis of functional (psychogenic) tics.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Functional tics, also called psychogenic tics or pseudo-tics, are difficult to diagnose because of the lack of diagnostic criteria and their clinical similarities to organic tics. The aim of the present study was to report a case series of patients with documented functional tics and to describe their clinical characteristics, risk factors and psychiatric comorbidity. Also clinical tips are suggested which might help the differential diagnosis in clinical practice. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eleven patients (mean age at onset 37.2, SD 13.5; three females) were included with a documented or clinically established diagnosis of functional tics, according to consultant neurologists who have specific expertise in functional movement disorders or in tic disorders. Adult onset, absent family history of tics, inability to suppress the movements, lack of premonitory sensations, absence of pali-, echo- and copro-phenomena, presence of blocking tics, the lack of the typical rostrocaudal tic distribution and the coexistence of other functional movement disorders were common in our patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that functional tics can be differentiated from organic tics on clinical grounds, although it is also accepted that this distinction can be difficult in certain cases. Clinical clues from history and examination described here might help to identify patients with functional tics.

Prevalence of depression in patients affected by subclinical hypothyroidism.

AIM: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients affected by subclinical hypothyroidism by means of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS); to assess which depressive symptoms are prevalent in our population, with references to the factorialization of HAM-D by Cleary and Guy (1977); to verify whether levothyroxine replacement therapy alone can induce total remission of depressive symptoms. METHODS: The study enrolled 63 patients affected by subclinical hypothyroidism undergoing follow-up at the endocrinology service of San Paolo Hospital in Milan. All patients underwent an evaluation by means of HAM-D and MADRS scales and serum TSH, free T4, free T3, TPO-Ab and Tg-Ab levels were measured. RESULTS: We estimated a prevalence of depressive symptoms in our population of 63.5%. Concerning the qualitative assessment of psychiatric disturbances in the population we considered, our results showed that the most frequent symptoms were part of four factors, according to the Cleary and Guy factorialization of HAM-D: these factors are representative of anxiety and somatisation (factor I), cognitive impairment disturbances (factor III), psychomotor retardation (factor V) and sleep disorders (factor VI). Levothyroxine replacement therapy alone wasn't effective in inducing total remission of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study suggests the importance of a psychiatric evaluation in patients affected by subclinical hypothyroidism.

Psychiatric issues in patients with headaches.

Comorbidities among headaches and psychiatric disorders have been consistently reported in several clinical studies and reviews. In this paper, we review some recent clinical studies on migraine and tension-type headaches associated with mood, anxiety and somatoform disorders, focusing on therapeutic strategies for the psychiatric disorders.