Department Overview

Section of Movement Disorders

Faculty:

Christopher Goetz, M.D. Section Head	Cynthia Comella, M.D.	Jennifer Goldman, M.D.
Aikaternini Kompoliti, M.D.	Bryan Bernard, Ph.D.	Leonard Verhagen, M.D.
Kathleen Shannon, M.D.

With a staff of six full-time attending physicians, two fellows, full-time nurse clinicians and a team of neuropsychologists, neurophysiologists and neuroimaging researchers, the Section of Movement Disorders provides clinical care, education and research for more than 2,000 patients. Its clinical program parallels research efforts in the basic science laboratory directed by Jeffrey Kordower, PhD. The section offers care for patients with a wide range of disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and other parkinsonisms; Huntington’s disease and other choreas, tremor; dystonia, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders, myoclonus, ataxia and other movement disorders. Each attending physician has a special area of expertise and also sees patients with general movement disorders.

Current research programs include clinical trials of new treatments for movement disorders, including gene therapy in Parkinson’s disease, new deep brain stimulation techniques, and new medications. Other areas of research include studies on the development of relevant measures of disease disability, clinico-pathologic correlations and experimental therapeutics. Studies of cognitive function, dementia, sleep abnormalities and hallucinations are additional research foci among the research team.

Residents participate in clinical activities by rotating through the outpatient clinics and observing procedures such as botulinum toxin injections and functional neurosurgical procedures. Educational activities include weekly video rounds where all new patients are evaluated and discussed, courses and lectures, and mentoring in the outpatient and inpatient services. Candidates desiring additional training may apply for a 2 year fellowship in Movement Disorders.

A number of residents have published research projects in collaboration with clinicians and basic scientists in the section. Recent resident research projects have included an analysis of the risk of hallucinations during antidepressant therapy with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Parkinson’s disease patients, an analysis of seasonal variations in hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease, and a report on patterns of falls in Huntington’s disease.