[Psychogenic paralysis. A prospective study]

Patients with motor conversion disorder are frequently seen in neurological departments. Long term prognosis is usually considered to be good, although earlier research has been somewhat unsystematic and mostly retrospective. This study follows a well investigated sample of patients for two to five years and attempts to identify predictors associated with prognosis.

Thirty patients with a recent onset of motor conversion disorder were assessed for key psychiatric and demographic variables. They were reassessed two to five years later.

Nineteen patients had recovered completely and eight patients had improved, while only three patients were unchanged or worse. Contrary to other follow-up studies none of the patients received a rediagnosis of neurological disease. The presence of a personality disorder, concomitant somatic disease, and low DSM-IV axis V score proved to be associated with poor outcome.

The results of this study stresses the need for careful and well-conducted neurological and psychiatric assessments in patients with psychogenic paralyses, bearing in mind the substantial possibility for coinciding illnesses. If this is ensured, it appears that the risk of subsequent neurological rediagnosis is negligible.