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Tremor : an update
Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London
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MDJ- 2018
SLIDE 3 MDS Consensus Criteria for ET
(Deuschl et al.1998)
Bilateral, largely symmetrical postural or kinetic tremor involving hands and forearms that is visible and persistent Additional (or isolated ! ) tremor of the head may occur but without abnormal posturing
SLIDE 4 MDS Consensus Criteria for ET
- Exclusion criteria include:
Other signs, especially dystonia Isolated position-specific
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ET has been considered as a pure or monosymptomatic disorder but….
SLIDE 6 ET literature (and dystonia)
- Database of 350 pts with “ET”
- 47% of patients had associated dystonia
(Spasmodic Torticollis in 27%, Writers Cramp in 14%, blepharospasm 7%, Spasmodic Dysphonia 4%) 20% developed parkinsonism (after ET)
- ‘‘This analysis finds no support for differentiation of ET subtypes and
it suggests that ET, although heterogenous in its clinical presentation, is a single disease entity.”
Lou & Jankovic,
SLIDE 7 Other features reported for ET
- Cerebellar dysfunction
- Cognitive changes- Duane et al , 2002, Higginson et al,
2008);- not controlled for depression, anxiety, co- morbidities, medications, etc
- Olfaction: affected -Louis et al 2002 –however not found
in other studies (Shah et al); may be related to co- morbidities or specific subgroup
- Hearing loss: Ondo et al, -but age dependent rather then
tremor severity dependent, age related?
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Misdiagnosis of ET
SLIDE 9 What conditions are commonly mistaken for ET and vice versa?
- Enhanced physiological tremor
- Tremulous dystonia or dystonic tremor
- PD, especially “BTP”
- Misdiagnosis rate of ET in 2 studies 37% (Jain et
al, 2007) and 50% (Schrag et al, 2000)
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Dystonia in ET was reported in between 7- 47% in various studies
SLIDE 13 The definition of tremor has not changed
- An involuntary, rhythmic,
- scillatory movement of a
body part
- Problem: the only perfectly
rhythmic tremor is primary
How rhythmic must an
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The concept of “isolated” and “combined” tremor
SLIDE 17 Examples of Axis 1 classification
Essential tremor
Combined tremor syndromes Isolated tremor syndromes
Dystonic tremor Task-specific tremor Primary
Rest tremor Bradykinesia Rigidity Tremor with ataxia
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SLIDE 23 ET is a syndrome with multiple etiologies.
- There is genetic heterogeneity.
- Many cases appear to be sporadic.
- It is an early phenotype of hereditary dystonia (eg,
ANO3), hereditary ataxia (eg, SCA12), and Parkinson disease.
- Louis. Arch Neurol 2009; 66: 1202-8
Deuschl et al. Mov Disord 2015; 30: 1327-34 Choudhury et al. Mov Disord Clin Pract 2018; 5: 39-46 Stamelou et al. Mov Disord 2014; 29: 928-934
SLIDE 24 ET plus “soft signs”
- 1. Rest tremor or questionable rest tremor
- 2. Impaired tandem gait
- 3. Questionable dystonic posturing of the hands,
head, etc.
- 4. Memory impairment
- 5. Mild sensory neuropathy
- 6. Markedly asymmetric upper limb tremor
- 7. Jerky tremor
Strongly discouraged.
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Tremor Investigation Group (TRIG) 1990
Validity of subtle (soft) signs of dystonia? Courtesy Roger Elble
SLIDE 26 ET plus is more common than ET?
Cohort of patients with lower limb tremor
Rajalingam et al. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2018; 56: 109-110
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A 69 year old man with a 10 year history of worsening tremor – possible family history in mother late in her life – mild benefit with alcohol
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SLIDE 30 Clinical example
Isolated bilateral upper extremity tremor for 1 yr. Strong Fam. Hx Action tremor in the head, voice and upper limbs Increased tremor Strained voice Slight head tilt Increased tremor Strained voice Cervical dystonia ANO3 mutation 2 yr 3 yr 1 yr Indeterminate tremor ET ET plus Antecedent ET Antecedent ET ANO3 dystonia Dystonic tremor syndrome Stamelou et al. Mov Disord 2014; 29: 928-934. Idiopathic Familial Idiopathic Familial Idiopathic Familial 2 yr 3 yr 1 yr
Axis 1 Axis 2
Axis 1 classifications may change.
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Clinical syndrome – Possible Essential tremor – but genetic diagnosis DYT2 (HPCA gene mutations)
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Axis 1 subtypes – more etiologic specificity?
Data from one subtype may not be generalizable to other subtypes
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SLIDE 34 Management of Essential tremor syndromes
Drugs :
- Propranolol
- Primidone
- Topirimate
Botulinum toxin injections: Functional neurosurgery:
- VIM DBS
- Thalamic lesioning
- Focussed ultrasound
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NEJM 2016
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Orthostatic tremor- may be difficult to visualise as very fast – but you could listen to it!
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Rubral tremor
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70 year old with a 25 year history of postural tremor and more recent gait disorder, cognitive problems, MRI shows some cerebellar atrophy
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MDJ 2020 in press
SLIDE 54 Concluding remarks
- New classification will help with :
- Effect of drugs such as propranolol, primidone
and others in different tremor syndromes
- And whether different targets should be
considered for DBS in ET syndrome versus DT syndrome for example
- What about anticholinergics in ET plus with
dystonia?
- Outcomes and prognosis may differ