Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Tremor Symmetry in ET Not a Heritable Feature
Front Neurol; ePub 2017 Apr 19; Louis, et al
Tremor asymmetry did not aggregate in families with essential tremor (ET), a recent study found. Therefore, this does not seem to be a disease feature that is heritable. ET probands and relatives were enrolled in a genetic study at Yale and Columbia universities. An in-person evaluation consisted of a videotaped neurological examination, including a detailed assessment of tremors. A senior movement disorders neurologist reviewed all videotaped examinations, and the severity of postural and kinetic arm tremors was rated on 12 examination items using a reliable rating scale. There were 187 enrollees (59 probands, 128 affected relatives). Researchers found:
- In a bivariate linear regression model, the tremor asymmetry index in the proband was not a predictor of the tremor asymmetry index in their relatives.
- In an analysis of variance, family grouping did not explain a significant proportion of the total variance in the tremor asymmetry index.
Louis ED, Hernandez N, Chen KP, Naranjo KV, et al. Action tremor asymmetry profile does not aggregate in families with essential tremor. [Published online ahead of print April 19, 2017]. Front Neurol. doi:10.3389/fneur.2017.00148.