Ground-Breaking Consultancy Appointment Bridges Gap between Mind and Brain

Dr Andrea Cavanna has been appointed as Consultant in Behavioural Neurology at the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham. The position, which is the first of its kind in the UK, has been created to address the gap between psychiatric and neurological diagnosis and treatment. The new appointment will ensure that patients presenting mental health problems which are not easily categorised in either discipline do not miss out on crucial and effective care.

Dr Cavanna joins the Neuropsychiatry team from his previous post at the Department of Neurology at Amedeo Avogadro University in Novara, Italy. He has published and presented widely in the field of neuropsychiatry, especially Tourette Syndrome and Epilepsy and was principally responsible for the design and testing of the only disease-specific Quality of Life scale in Tourette Syndrome (TS-QOL).

Commenting on the new appointment, Dr Hugh Rickards, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust, (BSMHT), said: “For the past 100 years, neurologists and psychiatrists have worked in separate domains and with separate narratives. Here, for the first time since the early 20th century, neurology and psychiatry are coming together once more to share expertise in the interests of a neglected group of patients. Dr Cavanna is a star in the field and we are all looking forward to working with him and developing the neuropsychiatry service.”

BSMHT has taken the initiative to bridge the treatment gap for people who are at risk due to the categorisation of mental health problems. Historically, initial diagnosis determines the balance of psychiatric or neurological treatment and this has resulted in referrals from one discipline to the other, increasing the risk of some falling through the safety net. The new multi-disciplinary role will avoid such instances and ensure that patients are dealt with more effectively.

Dr Cavanna commented: “The Department of Neuropsychiatry in Birmingham has already gained a solid international reputation based on multidisciplinary clinical skills and dynamic research attitudes. I’m looking forward to joining this young and enthusiastic team working at the interface between neurology and psychiatry. Referral figures show that neuropsychiatry is an expanding specialty, and in the near future it is likely to become the best solution to the flaws of a ‘mindless’ neurology and a ‘brainless’ psychiatry.”

Editors Notes

The Department of Neuropsychiatry at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital offers specialist assessment, individual diagnosis and treatment or management planning of neuropsychiatric conditions. Diagnostic support available includes video telemetry, polysomnography, EEGs (routine, clinical and ambulatory) and imaging (MRI scans). Domiciliary visits are part of the management strategy and are available on the basis of clinical need.

Of the Department’s six specialist clinics, its Epilepsy Clinic provides support for new onset seizures, Refractory Epilepsy, Epilepsy with co-morbid mental health problems, patients requiring vagal nerve stimulation and women with epilepsy who require pre-conception review and care during pregnancy.

Its Sleep Clinic treats parasomnias, hypersomnias (Narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia) and Circadian rhythm disorders. The General Neuropsychiatry Clinic is responsible for mental health sequelae of neurological disorders and the Huntington’s disease Clinic helps patients with Huntington’s disease. In addition, specialist clinics are provided for patients with Tourette syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), dissociative disorders, paroxysmal behaviour disorders and conversion disorders.