Movement disorders are neurological conditions that affect the speed control
quality and ease of movement the Parkinson and other movement disorders
center at UC San Diego health is dedicated to providing the best
diagnosis, therapeutic, palliative and supportive care to patients with
movement disorders. We treat Parkinson's disease dystonia, essential tremor, tics
and Tourette's syndrome, chorea Huntington's disease, corticobasal
degeneration, dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy, progressive
supranuclear palsy, restless leg syndrome, tardive dyskinesias and functional
movement disorders. Our main objective is to improve the quality of life for our
patients and their families and caregivers while searching for
significant ways to advance knowledge of these disorders through a
multidisciplinary clinical and research team. Disciplines such as physical
therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, neuropsychology and neurology
all work together to provide the best inpatient care. The Parkinson and Other
Movement Disorder Center is directed by Dr. Irene Litvan, Tasch endowed chair in
Parkinson's disease research at UC San Diego she specializes in diagnosing
challenging parkinsonian movement disorder patients including all atypical
parkinsonian disorders and for more than 30 years she's been conducting research
in this field the team includes neurosurgeon Dr. David Barba an expert
in stereotactic surgery for deep brain stimulation, neurologist and movement
disorder physicians Dr. Stephanie Lessig who specializes in deep brain
stimulation programming Dr. Brenton write treats people with movement
disorders including Parkinson's disease dystonia, tremor, ataxia
chorea, tics, tardive syndromes and other rare diseases he also specializes in
botulinum toxin and deep brain stimulation. Dr. Caitlin Mulligan has
expertise and special interest in deep brain stimulation DBS as a tool to treat
movement disorders as well as botulinum toxin injections and the treatment of
patients with Wilson's disease. Dr. David Coughlin is a movement disorders
specialist who also specializes in botulinum toxin and deep brain
stimulation his research focuses on neuropathology of neurodegenerative
diseases including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive
supranuclear palsy and others he specializes in the use of digital image
analysis of post-mortem tissue to better determine patterns of neuropathology in
neurodegenerative disease and how these measurements relate to in vivo
biomarkers like PET, MRI, CSF and clinical measurements and Dr. Jennifer
Friedman who specializes in pediatric movement disorders. Our physicians are
joined by our occupational therapists physical therapists speech therapists
social worker and neuropsychologists these team members have all received
specialized training for movement disorders including LSVT big training
for the occupational and physical therapists and LSVT loud training for
the speech therapists evaluations of cognition and behaviors lead to
identifying the best treatment options for the patient and their family
Patients of the UC San Diego Movement Disorder Center have the chance to work
with a close group of doctors and therapists all highly specialized in
their field ensuring they receive the best possible treatment and personalized
care. The Parkinson and Other Movement Disorder center at UC San Diego Health
in La Jolla. if you would like to schedule an appointment with the
Parkinson and Other Movement Disorder Center please register with
UC San Diego Health or call 858-657-8540.