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Related Experiment Videos

Tremor in ostensibly normal elderly people

R J Elble1

  • 1Department of Neurology and the Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield 62794-1413, USA.

Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|June 5, 1998
PubMed
Summary
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Diagnostic criteria for essential tremor and differential diagnosis.

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Mild, undiagnosed tremor is common in older adults. This study found 23% of participants aged 70-91 had tremor resembling essential tremor, often without awareness.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Gerontology
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Essential tremor is a common movement disorder, but its prevalence in the elderly, particularly mild or undiagnosed cases, is not well-established.
  • Assessing tremor in older populations is crucial for understanding age-related neurological changes and differentiating normal aging from pathological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the prevalence of abnormal tremor in ostensibly normal individuals aged 70-91.
  • To characterize the clinical and electrophysiological features of tremor in this age group.
  • To determine the awareness and prior diagnosis rates of tremor in affected individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 100 participants (50 healthy volunteers, 50 spouses of dementia/Parkinson's patients), aged 70-91.

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  • Conducted clinical interviews and examinations.
  • Quantitatively assessed tremor using rating scales, triaxial accelerometry, electromyography (EMG), a digitizing tablet, and spectral analysis.

    • Main Results:

    • 23% (23 out of 100) of participants exhibited clinically mild abnormal tremor, similar to essential tremor.
    • Clinical diagnosis correlated with motor unit entrainment on EMG and digitizing tablet analysis.
    • Only 10 of 23 individuals with abnormal tremor were aware of it, and none had a prior medical diagnosis.

    Conclusions:

    • Mild, undiagnosed tremor resembling essential tremor is prevalent in individuals aged 70-91.
    • Objective tremor assessment methods correlate with clinical findings.
    • A significant proportion of older adults may have undiagnosed tremor, impacting quality of life and necessitating further investigation.