HM Nou Delfos in Barcelona said on Tuesday 29 September that it will create a specialist unit for functional neurological disorders, which it described as the first such service in Catalonia.
The hospital did not give a launch date. For patients and families seeking specialist neurological care, the planned unit is intended to provide a dedicated service at the hospital rather than treatment being considered solely through its existing movement-disorders programme.
Existing programme focuses on movement disorders
HM Nou Delfos already runs a Movement Disorders Unit at HM CINAC, its neuroscience centre. According to the hospital, that programme treats neurological conditions which affect motor control, including:
- essential tremor;
- Parkinson's disease;
- dystonia;
- Tourette syndrome; and
- Huntington's chorea.
The hospital says its movement-disorders service uses High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, known as HIFU, for some patients whose symptoms have not improved with medicines. HIFU is described on the hospital's official page as a treatment for movement disorders, not as a treatment specifically for functional neurological disorders.
In the procedure, 1,024 ultrasound beams are guided by MRI scanning to a planned point in the brain. The hospital says the treatment targets a millimetre-sized area associated with abnormal activity causing symptoms, without open surgery.
HM Nou Delfos says HIFU is not suitable for every person with a movement disorder. Its clinicians first carry out a full neurological assessment, followed by MRI and CT scans where appropriate.
How to contact the hospital
Patients who want to request or manage an appointment can use HM Nou Delfos's official appointment service. The hospital has not yet published booking arrangements for the planned functional neurological disorders unit.
Reported by hmhospitales.com, Europa Press Barcelona.
