Background: Little is known about the prevalence and clinical characteristics of tremors in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), their associated clinical disability, and their impact on quality of life (QoL).
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the frequency and types of tremors in patients with relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) in remission, and their impact on patients' QoL.
Methods: A total of 250 patients with RRMS in remission were examined for tremors. All patients were assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Patients with tremors underwent further assessment using the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale (FTMTRS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Brain MRI was obtained for a subgroup of patients.
Results: Tremors were detected in 36 patients (14.4%) and were associated with significantly worse EDSS scores, BDI ( = 0.021), MoCA, most SF-36 domains, higher total and last year relapses ( < 0.001) and longer disease duration ( = 0.027). Patients with tremors showed higher lesion load ( = 0.007), more infratentorial ( ≤ 0.001), cerebellar and diencephalic lesions ( = 0.024), and cortical atrophy ( = 0.012). Total FTMTRS was significantly correlated to age, EDSS, and physical functioning. Dystonia was associated with tremors in 17 patients (6.8% of total RRMS patients and 47.2% of patients with tremors).
Conclusion: The current study confirms the common occurrence of tremors and their subtypes among patients with RRMS with mild disability and demonstrates their association with increased disability and impaired QoL.
Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is now generally considered to be a task-specific focal dystonia. For the first time, we wanted to explore the relationship between SD and dystonia from a combined neurological and phoniatric perspective. For this, we studied 115 patients with non-psychogenic SD by a combined neurological and phoniatric evaluation.
Background: While previous imaging studies have generally shown normal striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding in essential tremor (ET), emerging evidence suggests a partial dopaminergic mechanism in this condition and an epidemiological link between ET and Parkinson's disease (PD). This link seems particularly meaningful in ET patients with additional neurological signs, such as slowness of movements, rigidity, or rest tremor (ET+).
Objectives: To investigate the potential dopaminergic pathophysiology of ET+ and to compare it to PD.
Background: mutations are associated with a diverse set of distinct neurological syndromes and intermediate phenotypes that may include extra-neural features. Overall, genotype-phenotype correlations are weak. There are no consensus treatments.
Background: Essential tremor (ET) is among the most common movement disorders, yet there are few treatment options. Medications have limited efficacy and adverse effects; thus, patients often discontinue pharmacotherapy or take several medications in combination. We evaluated the economic correlates (healthcare resource utilization [HCRU] and costs) and comorbidities among adults with and without ET and among subgroups of patients with ET prescribed 0 to ≥3 ET medications.
