title: Positive signs of functional weakness.
abstract: Functional (conversion) neurological symptoms represent as one of the most common situations faced by neurologists in their everyday practice. Among them, acute or subacute functional weakness may mimic very prevalent conditions such as stroke or traumatic injury. Hence, accurate and reliable positive signs of functional weakness are valuable for obtaining timely diagnosis and treatment, making it possible to avoid unnecessary or invasive tests and procedures up to thrombolysis. We therefore present here a brief overview of the positive neurological signs of functional weakness available, both in the lower and in the upper limbs, moving from a historical perspective to their relevance in current clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurology, DCMT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy. Electronic address: lucio.tremolizzo@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tremolizzo
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurology, DCMT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Susani
authors.affiliation: San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy; Section of History of Medicine, Research Centre on Public Health, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele Augusto
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy; Section of History of Medicine, Research Centre on Public Health, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cesana
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurology, DCMT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrarese
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurology, DCMT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: Ildebrando
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Appollonio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D018908:Muscle Weakness; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Abduction finger sign; Abductor sign; Drift-without-pronation sign; Functional neurological symptoms; Hoover's sign; Weakness