Systemic Disease and Movement Disorders

Abstract Systemic illness is often complicated by the development of movement disorders, and the spectrum of movement disorders occurring in systemic diseases is as diverse as the spectrum of diseases eliciting them. While movement disorders often develop in patients with a known systemic illness, they can sometimes be the presenting feature of a systemic disease (1). Although pregnancy is not considered an “illness” there are many movement disorders associated with this condition(2). Recognition and treatment of the underlying condition or a systemic disorder is essential for the optimal management of associated abnormal movements. Therefore, when evaluating patients with movement disorders, clinicians should carefully consider all medical historical details, associated symptoms and signs, and risk factors for systemic diseases as these may provide important clues to the underlying aetiology of both the systemic and the associated movement disorders. The information presented in this chapter should serve as a guide not only to movement disorder clinicians but also to general and primary care physicians. Recognizing the movement disorder phenomenology is the first step that eventually leads to the aetiologic diagnosis. This chapter reviews movement disorders occurring in conjunction with several broad categories of systemic disease, including paraneoplastic, autoimmune, endocrine, metabolic, nutritional, and infectious diseases.