TY - JOUR
T1 - Postural and intention tremors
T2 - A detailed clinical study of essential tremor vs. Parkinson's disease
AU - Sternberg, Eliezer J.
AU - Alcalay, Roy N.
AU - Levy, Oren A.
AU - Louis, Elan D.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Background: An estimated 30-50% of essential tremor (ET) diagnoses are incorrect, and the true diagnosis in those patients is often Parkinson's disease (PD) or other tremor disorders. There are general statements about the tremor in these ET and PD, but published data on the more subtle characteristics of tremor are surprisingly limited. Postural tremor may occur in both disorders, adding to the difficulty. There are several anecdotal impressions regarding specific features of postural tremor in ET vs. PD, including joint distribution (e.g., phalanges, metacarpal-phalangeal joints, wrist), tremor directionality (e.g., flexion-extension vs. pronation-supination), and presence of intention tremor. However, there is little data to support these impressions. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 patients (ET, 50 PD) underwent detailed videotaped neurological examinations. Arm tremor was rated by a movement disorder neurologist who assessed severity and directionality across multiple joints. Results: During sustained arm extension, ET patients exhibited more wrist than metacarpal-phalangeal and phalangeal joint tremor than did PD patients (p < 0.001), and more wrist flexion-extension tremor than wrist pronation-supination tremor (p < 0.001). During the finger-nose-finger maneuver, intention tremor was present in approximately one in four (28%) ET patients vs. virtually none (4%) of the Parkinson's patients (p < 0.001). Conclusions: We evaluated the location, severity, and directionality of postural tremor in ET and PD, and the presence of intention tremor, observing several clinical differences. We hope that detailed phenomenological data on tremor in ET and PD will help practicing physicians delineate the two diseases.
AB - Background: An estimated 30-50% of essential tremor (ET) diagnoses are incorrect, and the true diagnosis in those patients is often Parkinson's disease (PD) or other tremor disorders. There are general statements about the tremor in these ET and PD, but published data on the more subtle characteristics of tremor are surprisingly limited. Postural tremor may occur in both disorders, adding to the difficulty. There are several anecdotal impressions regarding specific features of postural tremor in ET vs. PD, including joint distribution (e.g., phalanges, metacarpal-phalangeal joints, wrist), tremor directionality (e.g., flexion-extension vs. pronation-supination), and presence of intention tremor. However, there is little data to support these impressions. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 patients (ET, 50 PD) underwent detailed videotaped neurological examinations. Arm tremor was rated by a movement disorder neurologist who assessed severity and directionality across multiple joints. Results: During sustained arm extension, ET patients exhibited more wrist than metacarpal-phalangeal and phalangeal joint tremor than did PD patients (p < 0.001), and more wrist flexion-extension tremor than wrist pronation-supination tremor (p < 0.001). During the finger-nose-finger maneuver, intention tremor was present in approximately one in four (28%) ET patients vs. virtually none (4%) of the Parkinson's patients (p < 0.001). Conclusions: We evaluated the location, severity, and directionality of postural tremor in ET and PD, and the presence of intention tremor, observing several clinical differences. We hope that detailed phenomenological data on tremor in ET and PD will help practicing physicians delineate the two diseases.
KW - Clinical diagnosis
KW - Essential tremor
KW - Intention tremor
KW - Parkinson's disease
KW - Postural tremor
KW - Tremor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878773448&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84878773448&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fneur.2013.00051
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2013.00051
M3 - Article
C2 - 23717300
AN - SCOPUS:84878773448
SN - 1664-2295
VL - 4 MAY
JO - Frontiers in Neurology
JF - Frontiers in Neurology
M1 - 51
ER -