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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Functional motor disorders (FMDs) are frequent and highly disabling conditions. Despite the substantial advances in FMDs diagnosis, mechanisms and treatments, their tangible application to care of patients with FMDs is yet to be established. We aimed to identify the main real-life gaps and barriers in FMDs care, faced by both patients and physicians, in two different European countries, Italy and Czechia. METHODS A cross-cultural study was performed. RESULTS Both patients and physicians are face practical difficulties and pay a high price for the poor management of FMDs as a result of outdated classifications and insufficient education. This, in turn, has led to inadequate access to care and the existence of common misbeliefs regarding symptom severity or even suspicion of malingering. FMDs need to be integrated into national healthcare systems and in research priorities so that substantial cost savings can be achieved and appropriate care provided to patients. CONCLUSIONS We found multiple serious real-life unmet needs in FMD care, ranging from terminology and classification to poor recognition in national healthcare priorities. Based on these findings, we intend to mark the beginning of a collaborative project among researchers even in other different European settings to promote coordinated development efforts and goals in the evolving field of FMDs in clinical and research practice.

According to the World Health Organization, as many as 25% of traffic accidents are linked to alcohol abuse. This study describes the results of a nine-year study performed on injured drivers ( N = 12,806) in the Verona area of Northern Italy. Blood samples were mandatorily collected on injured drivers who were admitted to the Emergency Health Care Unit of Verona Hospital between 2009 and 2017, after they had been involved in a traffic accident. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) determination was then undertaken using a validated head space–gas chromatography–flame ionisation detector (HS-GC-FID) method. We found that 21% of drivers tested positive for alcohol (BAC ≥0.01 g/L), while 16.8% presented with BAC levels above the Italian legal limit (>0.5 g/L). Of those who had positive BACs, about 50% presented with very high BAC levels (>1.5 g/L). Daily time distribution analyses, involving 2031 alcohol-positive drivers, showed a surge between 18:00 hours and 06:00 hours (74.3%), with a specific rise during the weekend (58.9%). The percentage of alcohol-related road accidents was 20.6%, which is lower than results reported in other international studies performed over the last 20 years. However, evidence that around 50% of the positive subjects showed a BAC >1.5 g/L confirms the correlation between BAC and accident risk, which becomes even more significant at progressively increasing levels of BAC. The study highlights the need to implement further strategies to both prevent and deter the use of alcohol while driving.