Neurodegenerative Disorders

Program Overview

This 6-day course explores neurodegenerative disorders, emphasizing Huntington disease. It covers diagnosis, differential diagnosis, neuropsychological testing, psychiatric features, and management. The course includes both lectures and seminars, and participants can earn a certificate of attendance for CPD purposes.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This is a 6-day short course focusing on neurodegenerative disorders, with a particular emphasis on Huntington disease. It also delves into the specific aspects of Huntington disease, covering its diagnostic signs and symptoms, clinical course, epidemiology, genetic mechanisms, communication patterns, mobility, daily activities, nutrition, and other care needs.

Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants should be able to:

• Identify the different presentations of Huntington disease.
• Understand the differential diagnosis between Huntington disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
• Understand the methods of investigation and diagnosis, as well as the management options available to patients with Huntington disease, and apply them to clinical practice.
• Provide a critique and synthesis of the existing scientific literature and apply this to practice.
• Critically appraise the scientific literature on the clinical and research aspects of Huntington disease.

Outline:

The course is divided into two components:

• Other Neurodegenerative Disorders: This component covers the main neurodegenerative disorders, including their diagnosis, differential diagnosis, neuropsychological testing, psychiatric features, and bio/psycho/social management.
It consists of 3 days and 8 lectures. It also addresses the ethical and legal issues in providing care for people with Huntington disease, as well as existing and preferred services. This component consists of 3 days and 9 lectures.

Assessment:

The course is assessed through two 1500-word essays:

• Other Neurodegenerative Disorders component: One essay due in January (50% of the final grade).
• Huntington Disease component: One essay due in March (50% of the final grade).

Teaching:

The course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. The module leads are:

• Dr Aaron Sturrock: Other Neurodegenerative Disorders component.

Other:

• The course can be taken as a stand-alone course, in which case participants will receive a certificate of attendance for CPD purposes.
• No master's level credits are available for this module unless taken as part of the MSc, PGDip or PGCert in Clinical Neuropsychiatry programme.
• Participants are encouraged to contact the Programme Administrator at least 6 weeks before the start date of the module to ensure their application can be considered.