- McClennan-Banks Building -
Home to the MUSC Movement Disorders Program |  | For more information about our services, contact us at:
843-792-7262 |
The Movement Disorders Program offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for individuals suffering from disorders of motion and/or disease of the motor system. This includes, but is not limited to the following: Parkinsonism: slowness, stiffness, difficulty initiating movement, tremor at rest. While Parkinson's disease is most typical, these symptoms may occur in a variety of illness including progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, and Lewy body dementia.
- Chorea: from the Greek word for dance, this motor activity is involuntary and characterized by brief, forceful, jerky, or writhing movements that may affect any part of the body. The most common disorders are Huntington's disease and tardive dyskinesia which may result from some types of psychiatric drugs.
- Dystonia: a slow involuntary or twisting motion, producing massive and sustained muscle contraction, which maintains an abnormal posture. These may include any part of the body: neck (torticollis) or whole sections of the body (segmental dystonia) or occur only when triggered by a certain motion (writer's cramp).
- Tremor (shaking), motor tics, and myoclonus: movements often seen in the Movement Disorders Clinic. These all reflect disorders of the movement centers found deep in the brain in a region known as the basal ganglia.
Consultation in Movement Disorders
The MUSC Movement Disorders Clinic includes a comprehensive clinical setting for ongoing evaluation and treatment for disorders of motion. The multi-disciplinary approach to patients begins with a consultation with a fellowship-trained, board-certified neurologist. This physician specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease of the motor system. As needed, other types of evaluation and treatment are used, including: - Neurosurgery
- Neuropsychology
- Neuroradiology
- Genetics counseling
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
The cornerstone of treating these disorders begins with a comprehensive history and neurological examination. Because there are no definitive laboratory tests for these illnesses, clinical expertise remains the most reliable way to determine the nature of the diagnosis. All treatment follows from this. Some of the technologies and treatments used by our team include: Clinical Trials Unit
The Movement Disorders Program participates in an array of clinical trials, which changes periodically. Every patient seen in our clinic is entered into a computerized Program Registry. We use this tool to identify patients who may wish to participate in a drug or device trial. Click here to learn more about clinical trials and current trials being conducted through our research center. Collaborations
The faculty and staff at the MUSC Movement Disorders Program collaborate with a variety of departments and centers at MUSC, as well as several national organizations. They include: |
