Upper-Extremity Disability in Essential Tremor

Subgroup analysis of PD tremor with loading: Action tremor as a combination of classical rest and physiological tremor

“…Early data analysis revealed RMS tremor amplitudes skewed in both bands, suggesting necessary log-transformation (see also Deuschl et al, 2011;Elble et al, 2006;Heroux et al, 2006). Data post-transformation demonstrated substantial improvement in normality (Shapiro-Wilk test) and provided the basis for analyses.…”

Characterization of graphomotor functions in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor

“…Also, JimenezJimenez and colleagues showed that individuals with ET exhibited impairments in rapid repetitive finger movements and visual reaction time tasks (Jimenez-Jimenez et al, 2010), whereas Farkas, Szirmai, and Kamondi (2006) showed higher variability in individuals with ET than in controls when they rhythmically tapped their fingers and made alternating hand movements (Farkas et al, 2006). In general, it can be concluded that individuals with ET have a measurable disability with time-based upper-extremity function (Heroux, Parisi, Larocerie-Salgado, & Norman, 2006). All of these studies combined show that individuals with ET move slower, and their initiation of movements seems to be affected by the tremor, especially in tasks with time constraints, resulting in some studies not showing impairments because the tremor and the initiation of the rhythmic movements are possibly synchronized.…”

Tremor severity is a poor predictor of social disability in patients with essential tremor

“…Although it is well established that essential tremor (ET) can be a disabling condition, the severity of tremor does not always correlate with the degree of disability [1]. This discrepancy may be related to non-motor features of ET including sleep disturbances, fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression and reduced morale.…”