Learning About Movement Disorders

Atlantic Neuroscience Institute’s Movement Disorders Program at Overlook Medical Center helps patients manage neurological movement disorders – conditions in the brain that affect the body’s speed, fluency, quality and ease of mobility.

Signs and symptoms of movement disorders vary and may depend upon the severity of the disease or condition. Some cause excessive, spontaneous movement, while others may reduce mobility or cause abnormal involuntary motion.

Movement disorders can be caused by age, certain medications, stroke or hereditary factors, and are associated with the following diseases and disorders:

• Brain disorders or disease
• Chorea and Huntington’s disease
• Dystonia
• Hydrocephalus
• Medical refractory spasticity
• Myoclonus
• Parkinson’s disease
• Parkinsonism
• Restless leg syndrome
• Tics and Tourette syndrome
• Tremor

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)

NPH occurs when a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid (fluid inside the brain) expands the brain’s fluid-filled cavities, putting pressure on the brain which can cause dementia. Symptoms of NPH may be similar to those for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Although it can be found in people of any age, it is most common in elderly populations.

Most patients will have a combination of three kinds of symptoms:

• Walking (gait) problem – slow, short-stepped, shuffling, unsteady
• Memory loss – and other thinking problems (dementia)
• Urinary problem – urgency, frequency or incontinence

The symptoms of NPH can be reversed with proper diagnosis and treatment.

 Additional Movement Disorder Educational Resources

• American Parkinson Disease Association Inc.
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
• Parkinson's Disease Information
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
• Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
• The Parkinson Alliance
• Parkinson’s Action Network