Pathologic findings in prospectively ascertained essential tremor subjects.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Pathology

Background:

• Essential tremor (ET) is a common neurological disorder.
• The underlying neuropathology of ET is not fully understood.
• Previous studies suggest heterogeneous pathological findings in ET.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific pathological brain changes in individuals diagnosed with essential tremor (ET).
• To compare the postmortem brain findings in ET subjects with those of control subjects.
• To determine the frequency of specific pathologies, such as Lewy bodies, in ET.

Main Methods:

• Postmortem examination of brains from 24 subjects meeting clinical criteria for ET.
• Clinical characterization of subjects by neurologists and neuropsychologists.
• Comparison of pathological findings with 21 age-matched control subjects.

Main Results:

• Significant findings in ET subjects included cerebellar gliosis and depletion of pigmented neurons in the locus ceruleus.
• Seven subjects showed cerebellar pathology, and eight had locus ceruleus depletion.
• No increased incidence of Lewy bodies was observed in ET subjects compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• Essential tremor (ET) exhibits diverse neuropathological features.
• Cerebellar gliosis and locus ceruleus abnormalities are more frequent in ET.
• The study did not support an increased association between ET and Lewy body pathology.