Finding gaps and building bridges in movement disorders

Abstract

Movement disorders are one of the most rapidly growing fields of neurology from both the clinical and neurobiological perspectives. Despite many recent advances in genetic, pathogenetic, clinical and therapeutic fields, several shortcomings remain in the diagnostic and therapeutic realms, with a plethora of challenges threatening further advances. Aimed at recognizing and bridging these knowledge gaps, the 2nd International Conference on Knowledge Gaps in Parkinson’s Disease and Other Movement Disorders was held last February in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy, with the support of the Movement Disorder Society and the Italian Association for Parkinson’s Disease and Extrapyramidal Disorders. The 3-day symposium, which was attended by approximately 300 clinicians and researchers from around the world, gathered around 27 leading young and senior clinical scientists, each of whom addressed the field’s main knowledge gaps and brainstormed on how to bridge or minimize their impact. This meeting report summarizes the topics that gathered the most attention from the speakers and the audience.

Keywords::

• chorea
• dystonia
• movement disorders
• myoclonus
• Parkinson’s disease

Financial & competing interests disclosure

A Fasano serves as an editorial board member of Movement Disorders, and has received research support from Neureca Onlus, Milan, and speaker fees from Chiesi Farmaceutici, Medtronic and UCB Pharma. AJ Espay is supported by the K23 career development award (NIMH, 1K23MH092735) and has received grant support from CleveMed/Great Lakes Neurotechnologies, Davis Phinney Foundation and Michael J Fox Foundation and personal compensation as a consultant/scientific advisory board member for Solvay, Abbott, Chelsea Therapeutics, TEVA, Impax, Solstice Neurosciences and Eli Lilly; and has also received honoraria from Novartis, the American Academy of Neurology and the Movement Disorders Society. He serves as an assistant editor of Movement Disorders and is on the editorial boards of The European Neurological Journal and Frontiers in Movement Disorders. F Morgante received personal compensation as a consultant/scientific advisory board member for Allergan, and honoraria for speaking from Medtronic, GSK, Lundbeck, Chiesi Farmaceutici and Novartis. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.