Improvement in symptom severity, processing speed, gait, movement, and visual acuity in a patient with refractory functional neurological/ conversion disorder

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Improvement in symptom severity, processing speed, gait, movement, and visual acuity in a patient with refractory functional neurological/ conversion disorder Matthew M. Antonucci1, 2, 3* and Paul E. Link2, 3 1 Carrick Institute, Clinical Neuroscience, United States 2 Plasticity Brain Centers, Neurorehabilitation, United States 3 NeuroSynergy Associates, PA, Neurorehabilitation, United States Background: A 28-year-old, male, patient presents with a diagnosis of functional neurological/ conversion disorder. His condition was refractory to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), antidepressants, and anti-anxiolytics. His symptoms include twitching and spasms of his left hand and legs, balance issues, weakness, and difficulty walking which all have gotten worse within the last year. Grades Symptom Checklist (GSC) severity was 52/162. Trails A was 19.3 seconds, Trails B was 39.4 seconds, and his processing speed was 55 symbols matched correctly in 2 minutes. His Visual Acuity line difference (VA) was 2.0. Methods: A five-day, multimodal program of receptor based neurological rehabilitation was administered three times per day, one hour per session. Each session consisted of electrical somatosensory stimulation to the third branch of his trigeminal nerve, and his tibial nerve bilaterally, therapeutic exercises, vestibular rehabilitation exercises, and off-vertical axis rotations. Results: Following conclusion of five days of receptor based treatment there were significant improvements in GS (-86.5%), TA (-13%), TB (-14%), processing speed (+32.7%) and VA (-90%). Gait, movement parameters, weakness, balance difficulties, and gait also normalized. Conclusions: Short duration, multimodal, intensive programs of receptor based neurological rehabilitation may be a viable method to improve neurological integrity and performance in individuals with a diagnosis of functional neurological/ conversion disorder. The authors suggest further investigation into short duration, multi-modal, intensive approaches to restoring neurological function in individuals suffering from treatment-resistant functional neurological/ conversion disorder. Keywords: Conversion Disorder, Functional neurological disorder, tremors, Vestibular Rehabilitation, non-invasive nerve stimulation, Off-vertical axis rotation Conference: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: Clinical Neuroscience for Optimization of Human Function, Orlando, United States, 7 Oct - 9 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Abstracts ISCN 2016 Citation: Antonucci MM and Link PE (2016). Improvement in symptom severity, processing speed, gait, movement, and visual acuity in a patient with refractory functional neurological/ conversion disorder. Front. Neurol. Conference Abstract: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: Clinical Neuroscience for Optimization of Human Function. doi: 10.3389/conf.fneur.2016.59.00065 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 02 Sep 2016; Published Online: 07 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Matthew M Antonucci, Carrick Institute, Clinical Neuroscience, Orlando, United States, drnucci@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Matthew M Antonucci Paul E Link Google Matthew M Antonucci Paul E Link Google Scholar Matthew M Antonucci Paul E Link PubMed Matthew M Antonucci Paul E Link Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.