Movement Disorders in Prionopathies: A Systematic Review.

Background: Movement disorders are frequent features of prionopathies. However, their prevalence and onset remain poorly described.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of case reports and case series of pathologically- and genetically confirmed prionopathies.

Internal Versus External Frame of Reference in Functional Movement Disorders.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients with functional movement disorders (FMDs) differ in their internal versus external locus of control (LOC) and whether LOC in these patients affected disease severity, quality of life, and functional impairment compared with control subjects with degenerative (Parkinson's disease) and nondegenerative (focal dystonia) neurological conditions.

Methods: A total of 156 patients with FMD (N=45), Parkinson's disease (N=64), and focal dystonia (N=47) were recruited between June 2015 and August 2017. The authors administered the general Levenson Multidimensional LOC (LOC-G) and health-specific Multidimensional Health LOC (LOC-H) scales.

Diagnostic performance of the "Huffing and Puffing" sign in psychogenic (functional) movement disorders.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic value of effort-associated behaviors ("huffing and puffing" spectrum) in patients with psychogenic movement disorders.

Methods: Three blinded clinicians rated presence, severity, and duration of effort-associated features during standing and walking tasks on edited videos of 131 patients with psychogenic gait disorders and 37 patients with organic gait disorders.

Results: Huffing, grunting, grimacing, and breath holding were the most common effort-associated behaviors in patients with psychogenic gait disorders, with a combined prevalence of 44% and disproportionate to the severity of gait impairment compared to organic gait disorders.

Weight loss by calorie restriction versus bariatric surgery differentially regulates the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in male rats.

Behavioral modifications for the treatment of obesity, including caloric restriction, have notoriously low long-term success rates relative to bariatric weight-loss surgery. The reasons for the difference in sustained weight loss are not clear. One possibility is that caloric restriction alone activates the stress-responsive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, undermining the long-term maintenance of weight loss, and that this is abrogated after bariatric surgery.