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Essential tremor: a nuanced approach to the clinical features
Elan D Louis1,2,3
1Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA elan.louis@yale.edu.
Practical Neurology
|July 6, 2019
Summary
Essential tremor is common but often misdiagnosed. This review details its specific clinical features and motor signs to help differentiate it from Parkinson's disease and dystonia for accurate diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Movement Disorders
Background:
- Essential tremor is the most prevalent human tremor disorder.
- A significant percentage of patients diagnosed with essential tremor (30-50%) actually have other conditions, primarily Parkinson's disease and dystonia.
- The clinical presentation of essential tremor is complex and patterned, not nondescript.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the multifaceted clinical features of essential tremor.
- To provide diagnostic aids for distinguishing essential tremor from Parkinson's disease and dystonia.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical features of essential tremor.
- Discussion of tremor characteristics.
- Analysis of additional motor features.
- Comparison with Parkinson's disease and dystonia.
Main Results:
- Essential tremor exhibits a highly patterned and multifaceted tremor.
- Distinguishing essential tremor from Parkinson's disease and dystonia requires attention to specific clinical nuances.
- Misdiagnosis rates highlight the need for careful diagnostic evaluation.
Conclusions:
- Accurate diagnosis of essential tremor relies on recognizing its specific clinical and motor features.
- Neurologists must be vigilant in differentiating essential tremor from other movement disorders like Parkinson's disease and dystonia.
- Improved diagnostic accuracy enhances patient care for essential tremor.
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