Tandem gait performance in essential tremor patients correlates with cognitive function.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Movement Disorders

Background:

• Essential tremor (ET) is often associated with gait and balance impairments, termed mild ataxia.
• Cognitive deficits have also been observed in ET patients.
• The relationship between gait/balance issues and cognitive problems in ET remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between gait/balance impairments and cognitive deficits in individuals with essential tremor.

Main Methods:

• One hundred twenty ET patients were enrolled in an epidemiological study.
• Cognitive function was assessed using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS).
• Tandem gait was videotaped and the number of missteps during 10 steps was quantified.

Main Results:

• The average TICS score was 35.7, with a mean of 2.9 tandem gait missteps.
• A significant correlation was found between increased tandem gait difficulty and lower TICS scores (Spearman's r = -0.245, p = 0.011).
• Multivariate analysis confirmed that tandem gait missteps were independently associated with TICS scores (p = 0.04).

Conclusions:

• Cognitive impairment in ET is linked to greater difficulty with tandem gait.
• The concurrent motor and cognitive deficits may indicate a pervasive neurological disorder affecting both systems in ET patients.