How Many Scans Do Patients Get Before a Functional Movement Disorder Diagnosis

Why this matters: Functional motor disorder (FMD) is a common cause of disability in movement disorder clinics. Its diagnosis rests on positive signs found at clinical examination, such as internal inconsistency and distractibility, rather than on a confirmatory laboratory or imaging marker. Only a few tests have been validated as biomarkers for identifying FMD. In practice, patients may therefore go through many conventional investigations before the diagnosis is made. These can include MRI or CT, DaT-SPECT, EEG and neurophysiological studies. This can delay diagnosis, add cost, expose patients to unnecessary procedures and reinforce a sense that no explanation has been given.

What was studied: According to the abstract, the study aimed to estimate how often different conventional instrumental investigations were performed in FMD patients before diagnosis. The tests named were MRI/CT, DaT-SPECT, EEG, neurophysiological tests and other tests. It also aimed to identify which clinical and demographic features were associated with their use. The author list shows that the work comes from the Italian Registry of Functional Motor Disorders (IRFMD) study group, a multicentre network of Italian movement disorder centres led from the University of Verona. The paper was published in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice in December 2025 under an open access licence.

Key results: The text supplied to me ends partway through the abstract, after the background and objectives. The design details, sample size, test frequencies, associated predictors and the authors' conclusions were not included. I have therefore not reported any numbers or associations, to avoid presenting unsupported claims. Readers should consult the full paper for the actual figures.

Implications: The study's stated focus suggests it is relevant to the diagnostic pathway in FMD. It may help clinicians judge when instrumental testing adds value and when a diagnosis based on positive clinical signs could be made earlier. Identifying the patient characteristics that predict extensive testing could also point to where diagnostic delays and low-value testing occur.

Caveats: This summary is limited to the abstract's background and objectives. Study design, population, findings and the authors' own limitations cannot be assessed from the supplied material. Any clinical conclusions should wait for review of the complete article.