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Movement Disorders

About Our Movement Disorder Program:

The NCD movement disorder specialists are recognized for our expertise in the diagnosis and management of movement disorders in adults. Our pioneering research into further understanding Parkinson’s Disease and treating the symptoms has provided innovative care for our patients and their families.

Dedicated to providing comprehensive care, we diagnose, treat, and research a wide range of disorders in adults that affect movement including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, ataxia, tremor, tics, and Huntington’s disease and other choreas.

Providing proper treatment and management starts with an extensive evaluation to arrive at the right diagnosis. By identifying the disorder at hand, a unique treatment plan can be made. We review all risks and benefits of care prior to making a final treatment decision. 

shutterstock_1519499354
shutterstock_1519499354

Our Movement Disorder Team:

While all of our physicians diagnose and treat general movement disorders, we also have fellowship-trained movement disorder specialists that diagnose and manage special cases.

Nirav Pavasia, MD

Movement Disorder Neurologist

Aashoo Mentreddi, MD

Movement Disorder Neurologist

Elizabeth Chambers, MD

Movement Disorder Neurologist

Our Movement Disorders team offers a professional collaboration to improve the patient's quality of life.

  • Consultation with a fellowship-trained movement disorder neurologist
  • Medication review and management
  • Memory and cognitive testing
  • State of the art technology including MRI (interpreted by neuro-trained radiologists)
  • Clinical Research providing access to emerging therapies
  • Botulinum Toxin injections & other state of the art, non-medicinal treatments
  • Surgical consultation and work-up for device placement such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
  • DBS Programming and subsequent management care
  • PT, OT and Speech therapy with movement disorder trained therapist
What are Movement Disorders?

Movement disorders are neurologic conditions that cause problems with movement, such as

  • Increased movement that can be voluntary (intentional) or involuntary (unintended)
  • Decreased or slow voluntary movement

 

There are many different movement disorders. Some of the more common types include

  • Ataxia: The loss of muscle coordination. This causes trouble walking or use of the limbs.
  • Dystonia: Involuntary contractions of your muscles cause twisting and repetitive movements. The movements can be painful or cause loss of use of limbs.
  • Huntington’s Disease: An inherited disease that causes nerve cells in certain parts of the brain to waste away. This includes the nerve cells that help to control voluntary movement.
  • Lewy Body Dementia: Lewy body disease is a related condition to Parkinson’s Disease. These conditions involve the accumulation of an abnormal protein in brain cells. These deposits are called “Lewy bodies.” The person will experience Parkinson’s Disease symptoms as well as cognitive difficulties and visual hallucinations.
  • Parkinson’s Disease: A disorder that slowly gets worse over time. It causes tremors, slowness of movement, delayed or trouble speaking and swallowing, difficulty with walking or balance, and more. 
  • Tourette Syndrome: A condition which causes people to make sudden twitches, movements, or sounds (tics)
  • Tremor and Essential Tremor: Involuntary trembling or shaking movements. The movements may be in one or more parts of your body. This can be a little as a slight tremble, or movements that cause loss of ability to control limbs.
  • Multiple system atrophy: A nervous system disorder that affects multiple parts of the body, causing progressive loss of function.
  • Progressive supranuclear palsy: A neurological condition affecting walking, balance and eye movements.
  • Restless legs syndrome: An unpleasant or uncomfortable sensation in the legs followed by a constant urge to move them. Some describe these sensations as “ant bites” or “creepy crawlies” under the skin
How do you diagnose Parkinson’s Disease?

There is no specific test to rule out Parkinson’s disease, however there are many other diseases and medical issues that resemble the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that can be ruled out. Our physicians eliminate all possibilities to ensure that we are partnering with you for the best health outcome. 

  • Stroke – Strokes can cause many symptoms and impairments that mimic Parkinson’s disease, for instance tremor, stumbling, memory impairment, swallowing issues and more.
  • Medication – Some medications can obstruct the brain chemical dopamine causing temporary signs of Parkinson’s. However, these symptoms generally go away once the medication is discontinued. In most cases, our providers can eliminate the symptoms by offering a medication that takes the place of the current drug causing the symptoms.
  • Other neurological disorders – Other conditions such as dementia, essential tremor and others have signs and symptoms that are similar to Parkinson’s. Lewy Body Dementia is a sister diagnosis to Parkinson’s and carries some of the same qualities as PD.
  • Head trauma – There have been cases of head trauma causing symptoms of PD. 
  • Brain Tumor – Some brain tumors have been found to have symptoms that imitate PD due to putting pressure on certain areas of the brain. In some cases, these can be surgically removed to help relieve the patient of the symptoms. 

 

Our movement trained physicians work closely together with your PCP, caregivers and other health professionals to provide you with the most precise diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is confirmed, we partner with you to create an effective treatment plan.

What are the treatments for movement disorders?

While our team realizes that movement disorders cannot be cured, and our goal of treatment is to minimize symptoms, relieve pain and help our patient’s find the best quality of life possible. 

Some movement disorders severe and progressive, impairing your ability to move and/or speak. While treatment for movement disorders will depend on the underlying cause of your condition, some of the options your specialist may suggest include:

  • Drug therapies to control your symptoms
  • Physical or occupational therapy to help maintain or restore your ability to control your movements
  • Botulinum toxin injections to help prevent muscle contractions
  • Deep brain stimulation, a surgical treatment option that uses an implant to stimulate the areas of your brain that controls movement
  • Clinical research trials to help determine new therapies for movement disorders

 

Because no two movement disorders are the same, our specialized team will develop an individualized treatment plan for you. Our thorough, compassionate care will help you find relief and comfort during the uncertainty of your treatment. Make an appointment today with one of our Movement Disorder Specialists to learn how our multi-specialty approach will help you manage your condition today and in the future.

 

Additional Resources

Parkinson’s Foundation
Michael J. Fox Foundation
Dallas Area Parkinsonism Society
Parkinson’s Voice Project
Huntington’s Disease Society of America
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

Our Community & Research

Our physicians serve the community by hosting conferences, teaching patient education, presenting at support groups, supporting charity events, participating as board members for DAPS (Dallas Area Parkinsonism Society), participating in The Parkinson’s Foundation of Texas community programs and other outreach.

We are committed to providing patients and their families with thorough, considerate care. Our goal is to further progress in the field of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, in terms of both patient care and cutting-edge research. We are continuously investigating better diagnostic tests and improved therapeutic options for patients and their families. At your visit, we are happy to discuss clinical trials and research studies that are currently open to patient participation. Should you decide to participate in a research study, our team of subspeciality-trained neurologists, research director, medical assistants and research coordinators will work closely with you before, during and upon completion of your valued participation, to make certain you receive the best possible care.

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