Distribution of rest tremor in patients with Essential Tremor: Does it lateralize with simple kinetic, postural, or intention tremors?

BACKGROUND

Essential tremor (ET) is characterized by action tremor, although rest tremor may also occur. Despite this, rest tremor has not been studied extensively. A dearth of studies compare the relationship of rest tremor to other types of tremors in ET.

METHODS

Two-hundred-and-thirteen ET cases underwent detailed neurological examination, including evaluations of rest, simple kinetic, postural, and intention tremors. A movement disorders neurologist assessed the prevalence of each type of tremor. Each instance of tremor was classified as either symmetrical (present and equally severe on both sides of the body) or asymmetrical (only present on or more severe on one side of the body). Asymmetrical rest tremor that co-occurred with other types of asymmetrical tremors in a given case was further classified as either concordant (i.e., asymmetry on the same side of the body) or discordant (i.e., asymmetry on opposite sides of the body). Chi-square analyses examined the prevalence of concordant versus discordant pairings.

RESULTS

Sixty-two cases (29.2%) had rest tremor while seated. Fifteen (7.4%) had rest tremor while standing. Among asymmetric tremor pairings, concordant pairings occurred 2-2.7 times more frequently than discordant pairings - for pairings involving rest tremor while seated, 73.2% were concordant and 26.8% discordant (p < 0.001); for pairings involving rest tremor while standing, 66.7% were concordant and 33.3% were discordant (p = 0.25).

CONCLUSIONS

Rest tremor often lateralized with other tremor types. These data add to our knowledge of the phenotypic manifestations of ET.