Relationship Between Essential Tremor and Cerebellar Dysfunction According to Age.
- Author:
Eui Seong LIM
1
;
Man Wook SEO
;
Seong Ryong WOO
;
Suk Young JEONG
;
Seul Ki JEONG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Essential tremor; Tandem gait; Cerebellum; Age
- MeSH: Aging; Cerebellar Diseases*; Cerebellum; Essential Tremor*; Gait; Humans; Odds Ratio; Prevalence; Research Personnel
- From:Journal of Clinical Neurology 2005;1(1):76-80
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND: The cerebellum and its neural circuitry have been assumed to play a major role in the pathophysiology of essential tremor (ET). In this study, we sought to find associations between ET and cerebellar dysfunction. METHODS: We performed tandem gait test in 41 ET patients and 44 age-matched controls. Investigators assessed tandem gait by counting the number of missteps during ten-step tandem walk and each subject repeated the trial three times. RESULTS: ET patients had a higher average and total numbers of missteps during tandem gait tests than control subjects (p<0.05). Sex-adjusted odds ratio of the association between tandem gait abnormality and ET was 3.40 (95% confidence intervals 1.06-10.85). According to age stratification, aged ET patients (age > or =70 years) showed significantly higher prevalence of tandem gait abnormality than young ones. Interaction terms determined by a likelihood ratio test was also statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dysfunction of cerebellar neural circuitry may be associated with the pathophysiological mechanism of ET. In addition, aging may be an important factor modifying the association.
