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Published on: December 13, 2017
Clinical Scales and Wearable Sensors in Patients with Essential Tremor Treated with Deep Brain Stimulation
Elena Jiltsova1, Anna Hauffman2, Dag Nyholm1
1Department of Medical Sciences, Neurology, Uppsala University, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Background:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for essential tremor (ET) is commonly evaluated using tremor scales, which capture only snapshot of symptoms and miss daily variability. Wearable sensors enable objective monitoring and may offer complementary information to support clinical decisions.
Objectives:
To investigate whether continuous wearable monitoring provides additional information to traditional analysis in ET.
Methods:
Forty-five patients with ET undergoing DBS were assessed preoperatively and 9-12 months postoperatively using TETRAS scale, the EQ-5D-3L, and the Personal KinetiGraph (PKG) which quantified percentage time with tremor (PTT). Pre- and postoperative measures were compared and correlated.
Results:
DBS significantly improved outcomes: median TETRAS scores decreased by 55% and PKG PTT by 59%. Individual responses varied, and TETRAS and PTT showed week correlation, indicating that instruments capture different aspects of the disorder.
Conclusions:
Combining clinical scales with wearable monitoring complements traditional assessments by capturing daily tremor fluctuations and supporting optimized DBS management.
