Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y)
August 2013
Background: Although voice tremor is one of the most commonly noted clinical features of essential tremor (ET), there are nearly no published data on the handicap associated with it.
Methods: The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) was self-administered by participants enrolled in a research study at Columbia University Medical Center. The VHI quantifies patients' perceptions of handicap due to voice difficulties.
Background: Environmental correlates for essential tremor (ET) are largely unexplored. The search for such environmental factors has involved the study of a number of neurotoxins. Harmane (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole) is a potent tremor-producing toxin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEssential tremor (ET) is a widespread late-life neurological disease. Genetic and environmental factors are likely to play important etiological roles. Harmane (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole) is a potent tremor-producing neurotoxin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Apathy, defined as decreased goal-directed activity, has been observed in Parkinson's disease. A number of cognitive/psychiatric features have been documented in essential tremor, yet we are unaware of studies of apathy.
Methods: Using the Apathy Evaluation Scale (range = 18-72 [more apathy]), we compared 79 essential tremor cases, 20 dystonia cases, and 39 Parkinson's disease cases with 80 normal controls.
Parkinsonism Relat Disord
March 2012
Background: Recent studies have shed light on non-motor features of ET, such as depressive symptoms and cognitive changes, which might be attributed to pathophysiological changes in the brains of ET patients. Given these brain changes, we explored sleep abnormalities in ET patients.
Methods: Sleep was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in 120 ET cases, 120 normal controls, and 40 PD cases.
Background: Although a mild objective abnormality of gait and balance has been observed in essential tremor (ET) cases in research settings, the clinical significance of this finding for patients is far from clear. In this study, we assessed whether ET patients subjectively experience more gait difficulty, more falls or near misses than controls.
Methods: Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scores were obtained in 59 ET cases (15 with head tremor and 44 without head tremor) and 82 controls enrolled in a clinical-epidemiological study.
Harmane, a potent neurotoxin linked with several neurological disorders, is present in many foods, coffee, and cigarettes. We assessed whether morning food/coffee consumption and smoking were reflected in blood harmane concentrations (BHCs) we obtained in an epidemiologic sample (n = 497). Participants who smoked on the morning of phlebotomy had similar logBHCs to those who had not smoked (P = .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite its high prevalence, there are surprisingly few prospective, longitudinal data on the clinical course of essential tremor (ET). Patients themselves often want to know from their treating physician whether and by how much their tremor is expected to worsen over time.
Methods: As part of two research protocols, prospective, longitudinal data were collected on tremor severity in two samples of ET cases (44+39 cases, combined n=83).
Background: Tremor is a widespread phenomenon in human populations. Environmental factors are likely to play an etiological role. Harmane (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-β]indole) is a potent tremor-producing β-carboline alkaloid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinsonism Relat Disord
December 2010
Introduction: Embarrassment is commonly reported in essential tremor (ET) patients yet there is no formal tool to assess embarrassment in ET. Our aim was to develop such a tool and to assess its clinimetric properties. A quantitative measure of embarrassment could be used to assess response to treatment in clinical practice and clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTremor in the dominant arm is often the focus of clinical attention in essential tremor (ET) yet many daily activities require both arms. The functional relevance of nondominant arm tremor has rarely been studied. In 181 right-handed patients with ET, action tremor in each arm was rated using a clinical rating scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Harmane, a potent tremor-producing β-carboline alkaloid, may play a role in the etiology of essential tremor (ET). Blood harmane concentrations are elevated in ET cases compared with controls yet the basis for this elevation remains unknown. Decreased metabolic conversion (harmane to harmine) is one possible explanation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic processes that regulate muscle energy use are major determinants of bodily energy balance. Here, we find that sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels, which couple membrane excitability with cellular metabolic pathways, set muscle energy expenditure under physiological stimuli. Disruption of K(ATP) channel function provoked, under conditions of unaltered locomotor activity and blood substrate availability, an extra energy cost of cardiac and skeletal muscle performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human metapneumovirus is a recently discovered RNA virus that typically causes respiratory disease in children. It has been linked to severe lower airway disease in hematopoietic stem cell and solid-organ transplant recipients. hMPV infection in a large population of patients with underlying cancer and varying degrees of immunosuppression has not been reported.
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