Early- and late-onset essential tremor patients represent clinically distinct subgroups

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Movement Disorders
• Clinical Phenotyping

Background:

• Essential tremor (ET) is a common neurological disorder with broad clinical criteria.
• ET is likely not a single etiologically homogeneous disease.
• Age at onset is a key factor in stratifying ET patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate phenotypic differences between early- and late-onset essential tremor patients.
• To determine if age at onset can help differentiate ET subtypes.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed data from 1137 tremor patients, including 978 with ET.
• Selected early-onset (≤24 years) and late-onset (≥46 years) subgroups.
• Utilized standardized examinations including Archimedes spiral drawing and Fahn-Tolosa-Marin scale.

Main Results:

• Tremor severity was comparable between early- and late-onset groups.
• Late-onset ET showed significantly faster progression than early-onset ET.
• Early-onset ET patients more frequently reported positive family history and alcohol sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Age at onset is a significant factor distinguishing ET subtypes.
• Early- and late-onset ET exhibit different progression rates and clinical features.
• Findings support stratifying ET based on age at onset for better understanding.