Fish's Clinical Psychopathology Lab

Syndromes

Blocq's Disease

Blocq's disease, also known as astasia-abasia, is a conversion presentation in which the person is unable to walk or stand normally despite no underlying organic lesion accounting for it. The gait is bizarre and inconsistent, often marked by dramatic swaying and near-falls with recovery at the very last moment, a pattern that does not match any recognised neurological disorder of gait.

Illustration

A woman who was walking normally that same morning is brought to hospital unable to take a single step without lurching wildly and appearing on the verge of collapse, yet each time she seems about to fall she catches herself with perfect balance at the last possible moment, a pattern the examining doctor notes is inconsistent with any organic cause of unsteady gait.

References