Psychiatric comorbidities in movement disorders

Abstract

Psychiatric comorbidities are common in movement disorders. This review provides a practical approach to help clinicians to recognize psychiatric disorders in the most frequent movement disorders. However, the extent of neurodegeneration, as well as the impact of medications with considerable CNS effects, influences the diverse psychiatric presentations that, in turn, are influenced by the stress of living with a movement disorder. Depression, anxiety, and psychosis are the most common psychiatric comorbidities in movement disorders and of the medications used to treat the motor disturbances. These psychiatric problems impair patients’ functioning throughout the course of the chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Due to the direct connection between brain dysfunction and psychiatric symptoms, there is hope that understanding the psychiatric comorbidities in movement disorders will lead to a better quality-of-life.

Keywords:

• Movement disorders
• psychiatric comorbidities
• drugs
• depression
• anxiety
• psychosis

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by CONACYT-FOSISS 2016 [grant number 273213].