Does Added Objective Tremor Monitoring Improve Clinical Outcomes in Essential Tremor Treatment?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Vittal P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6336186 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan-Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Does Added Objective Tremor Monitoring Improve Clinical Outcomes in Essential Tremor Treatment?
Vittal Padmaja P Pulliam Christopher L CL Goetz Christopher G CG Ouyang Bichun B Jankovic Joseph J Ramirez-Castaneda Juan L JL Heldman Dustin A DA
Movement disorders clinical practice 20171025 1
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Project description:BackgroundEssential tremor (ET) is typically measured in the clinic with subjective tremor rating scales which require the presence of a clinician for scoring and are not appropriate for measuring severity throughout the day. Motion sensors can accurately rate tremor severity during a set of predefined tasks in a laboratory.MethodsWe evaluated the ability of motion sensors to quantify tremor during unconstrained activities at home. 20 ET subjects wore a wireless sensor continuously for up to 10 h daily on two days and completed hourly standardized tremor assessments involving pre-defined tasks. Mathematical models were used to predict tremor rating scores from the sensor data.ResultsAt home tremor scores from hourly standardized assessments correlated with at home tremor scores estimated during unconstrained activities immediately following the standardized assessments. The hourly standardized assessments did not significantly fluctuate throughout the day, while fluctuations in the continuous assessments tended to follow changes in voluntary activity level. Both types of tremor ratings (standardized and continuous) showed high day-to-day test-retest reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.67 to 0.90 for continuous ratings and 0.77 to 0.95 for standardized ratings.ConclusionsResults demonstrate the feasibility of continuous monitoring of tremor severity at home, which should provide clinicians with a measure of the temporal pattern of tremor in the context of daily life and serve as a useful tool for the evaluation of novel anti-tremor medications in clinical trials.
| S-EPMC3946846 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe value of continuous symptom monitoring in people with essential tremor is uncertain.ObjectivesTo determine the relationship between tremor amplitude measured with wearable inertial sensors and clinician- and patient-rated measures.MethodsFor 14 days, patients (1) wore inertial sensors on both wrists, (2) self-rated their tremor using a diary, (3) drew spirals, and (4) completed an activities of daily living scale once daily. Patients were also scored using The Essential Tremor Rating Scale (TETRAS) performance in the clinic by a clinician.ResultsWe found strong correlations in patient-reported metrics of tremor, but weak correlations between these data and both the inertial sensor data and the in-clinic TETRAS scores.ConclusionsThe patient experience of tremor during normal daily activities may differ from the transducer-based measures of tremor amplitude and rating scales of tremor severity. Future studies should consider how to record features of tremor that are important to patients.
| S-EPMC9631851 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesMagnetic resonance-guided focussed ultrasound (MRgFUS) is an incisionless ablative procedure, widely used for treatment of Parkinsonian and Essential Tremor (ET). Enhanced understanding of the patient- and treatment-specific factors that influence sustained long-term tremor suppression could help clinicians achieve superior outcomes via improved patient screening and treatment strategy.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed data from 31 subjects with ET, treated with MRgFUS at a single centre. Tremor severity was assessed with parts A, B and C of the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST) as well as the combined CRST. Tremor in the dominant and non-dominant hand was assessed with Hand Tremor Scores (HTS), derived from the CRST. Pre- and post-treatment imaging data were analysed to determine ablation volume overlap with automated thalamic segmentations, and the dentatorubrothalamic tract (DRTT) and compared with percentage change in CRST and HTS following treatment.ResultsTremor symptoms were significantly reduced following treatment. Combined pre-treatment CRST (mean: 60.7 ± 17.3) and HTS (mean: 19.2 ± 5.7) improved by an average of 45.5 and 62.6%, respectively. Percentage change in CRST was found to be significantly negatively associated with age (β = -0.375, p = 0.015), and SDR standard deviation (SDRSD; β = -0.324, p = 0.006), and positively associated with ablation overlap with the posterior DRTT (β = 0.535, p < 0.001). Percentage HTS improvement in the dominant hand decreased significantly with older age (β = -0.576, p < 0.01).ConclusionOur results suggest that increased lesioning of the posterior region of the DRTT could result in greater improvements in combined CRST and non-dominant hand HTS, and that subjects with lower SDR standard deviation tended to experience greater improvement in combined CRST.
| S-EPMC10166854 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common neurological disorders and can be highly disabling. In recent years, studies on the clinical perspectives and pathophysiology have advanced our understanding of ET. Specifically, clinical heterogeneity of ET, with co-existence of tremor and other neurological features such as dystonia, ataxia, and cognitive dysfunction, has been identified. The cerebellum has been found to be the key brain region for tremor generation, and structural alterations of the cerebellum have been extensively studied in ET. Finally, four main ET pathophysiologies have been proposed: 1) environmental exposures to β-carboline alkaloids and the consequent olivocerebellar hyper-excitation, 2) cerebellar GABA deficiency, 3) climbing fiber synaptic pathology with related cerebellar oscillatory activity, 4) extra-cerebellar oscillatory activity. While these four theories are not mutually exclusive, they can represent distinctive ET subtypes, indicating multiple types of abnormal brain circuitry can lead to action tremor. This article is part of the Special Issue "Tremor" edited by Daniel D. Truong, Mark Hallett, and Aasef Shaikh.
| S-EPMC10363990 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC7781080 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and objectivesEthanol has been reported to improve tremor severity in approximately two thirds of patients with essential tremor (ET), but the accuracy of that proportion is not certain and the mechanism of action is unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate alcohol response on tremor by applying an a priori objective response definition and subsequently to describe the responder rate to a standardized ethanol dose in a cohort of 85 ET patients. A secondary analysis evaluated other tremor and nontremor features, including demographics, tremor intensity, breath alcohol concentration, nontremor effects of alcohol, self-reported responder status to ethanol, and prior ethanol exposure.MethodsThis was a prospective, open-label, single-dose challenge of oral ethanol during which motor and nonmotor measurements were obtained starting immediately prior to ethanol administration and subsequently every 20 min for 120 min. We defined tremor reduction as a 35% decline in power in the patient's tremor frequency recorded during spiral drawing 60 min after ethanol administration.ResultsIn total, 80% of patients were considered alcohol responsive using our objective definition. Responder status and change in the objective tremor metrics were significantly correlated with the change in breath alcohol concentration levels after ethanol administration, but no other relationships to nontremor metrics were found.DiscussionA high percentage of patients actually respond to acute ethanol. However, their self-reported response does not correlate well with their objective response. Objective response correlates with breath alcohol level but not with sedation, indicating a specific effect of ethanol on tremor.
| S-EPMC10791018 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence and assess the clinical correlates of intention tremor in the legs in essential tremor (ET) patients.BackgroundThe cerebellar features of ET are of growing interest to clinical neurologists. Arm tremor has an intentional component in many ET patients. Intention tremor in the legs, however, has never been systematically evaluated.MethodsOne-hundred-twenty-eight ET patients were enrolled in a clinical-epidemiological study at Columbia University. A videotaped neurological examination included 10 toe-to-target movements with each foot. Videotapes were independently reviewed by two movement disorder neurologists who noted the presence vs. absence of intentional leg tremor. Two patients underwent quantitative computerized tremor analysis to study the physiological characteristics of the tremor.ResultsThirty-five patients (27.3%) had intentional leg tremor; in 21, tremor was unilateral and in 14 it was bilateral. The 35 patients with intentional leg tremor did not differ from the remaining 93 patients in their clinical characteristics. Analyses comparing the 14 patients with bilateral intentional leg tremor to the 93 patients with no intentional leg tremor showed trends towards longer disease duration and more severe intentional arm tremor in the former. Tremor analysis showed a 3-fold increase in average tremor amplitude from movement onset to the point just prior to touching the target.ConclusionsOur data suggest that intentional leg tremor, another cerebellar feature, is common in ET patients. The tremor may be associated with longer disease duration and more severe intentional arm tremor, but these preliminary trends need to be assessed in larger study samples.
| S-EPMC4428903 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Tremor is a common movement disorder that can be induced by medications, including valproate, which is used for the treatment of epilepsy. However, the clinical and neurophysiological features of valproate-induced tremor are still under-investigated. We performed a clinical and kinematic assessment of valproate-induced tremor by considering tremor body distribution and activation conditions. We investigated possible correlations between demographic and clinical data and kinematic features. Valproate-induced tremor results were also compared with those collected in a large sample of patients with essential tremor. Sixteen valproate-induced tremor patients and 93 essential tremor patients were enrolled. All participants underwent a standardised neurological examination and video recording. Patients also underwent an objective assessment of postural, kinetic and rest tremor of the upper limbs and head tremor through kinematic analysis. Nonparametric tests were used for statistical comparisons between the two groups. Clinical evaluation showed a higher occurrence of rest tremor as well as head or voice, and lower limb involvement in patients with valproate-induced tremor. Kinematic analysis showed a substantial variability in the tremor features of patients with valproate-induced tremor. Compared to essential tremor, we found a higher occurrence of rest tremor of the upper limbs and the involvement of more body segments in valproate-induced tremor patients. Valproate-induced tremor has distinctive clinical and kinematic features, which may suggest that valproate interferes with the cerebellar functions.
| S-EPMC8213593 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We present clinical features and tremor characterization in a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as in two cases of essential tremor (ET) with some parkinsonian features but no evidence of dopaminergic terminal loss on (123)I-FP-CIT Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Relatively slow frequency rest tremor and bilateral upper extremity bradykinesia without decrementing amplitude were observed in the ET cases, with unilaterally decreased arm swing in case 3. Alternating rest tremor and re-emergent tremor with 13 second latency was confirmed in the PD case. Re-emergent tremor had alternating characteristics, which to our knowledge has not been previously reported. The ET cases had synchronous postural tremor. Alternating re-emergent tremor in PD provides further evidence for re-emergent tremor as an analogue of rest tremor in PD. Two cases of ET with synchronous postural tremor and one to two year history of parkinsonian features had no evidence of dopaminergic terminal loss up to 40 years after the initial onset of ET. Tremor synchronicity characterization can assist in differential diagnosis between the two disorders.
| S-EPMC3656631 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common neurologic disorders, and genetic factors are thought to contribute significantly to disease etiology. There has been a relative lack of progress in understanding the genetic etiology of ET. This could reflect a number of factors, including the presence of substantial phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity. Thus, a meticulous approach to phenotyping is important for genetic research. A lack of standardized phenotyping across studies and patient centers likely has contributed to the relative lack of success of genomewide association studies in ET. To dissect the genetic architecture of ET, whole-genome sequencing will likely be of value. This will allow specific hypotheses about the mode of inheritance and genetic architecture to be tested. A number of approaches still remain unexplored in ET genetics, including the contribution of copy number variants, uncommon moderate-effect alleles, rare variant large-effect alleles (including Mendelian and complex/polygenic modes of inheritance), de novo and gonadal mosaicism, epigenetic changes, and noncoding variation.
| S-EPMC5898616 | biostudies-literature