:: Jun-Jul 2008

Welcome to our Monthly Online Newsletter!

View all Treatment articles in our Treatment Report . The most recent articles are listed on top (not in alphabetical order). Click on the Topic on our home page and then the subtopic - Treatment Report. Stay updated on drugs and their side effects, and various other treatments, including exercise, nutrition, and supplements.

Highlighted Article

Clinical Guidelines

Practice parameter: therapies for essential tremor: report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. (Neurology. 2005)

Internet Sites

Featured site

NIH - Tremor

Essential tremor (Mayo)

The International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF)

NIH - Genetics Home Reference: Essential tremor

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Drug-induced tremor

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Essential Tremor

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Familial tremor

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Hand Tremor

NIH - Medical Encyclopedia Tremor

NIH - NINDS Tremor Information Page

NIH - Tremor Resources

Related Topics - Highlighted Articles

Parkinsons' Disease

Defining the Parkinson's disease phenotype: initial symptoms and baseline characteristics in a clinical cohort. (Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2005) " OBJECTIVES: Examine the demographic and historical characteristics of a large Parkinson's disease (PD) clinical cohort and determine the pattern and relationship between initial symptoms of PD and physical examination ratings at the initial subspecialty clinic visit. Ä "RESULTS: The overall sample was predominantly right-handed (92%) male (67%), with a mean age of 70 years and symptomatic disease duration of about 7 years. About 25% of the sample reported a positive family history of a neurodegenerative disorder. Tremor (47%) and bradykinesia (29%) were the two most common initial symptoms of PD and occurred primarily in the upper extremities (68%)."

Parkinson's Disease

Heterogeneity of Parkinson's disease in the early clinical stages using a data driven approach. (J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005) "OBJECTIVE: To investigate the heterogeneity of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) in a data driven manner among a cohort of patients in the early clinical stages of the disease meeting established diagnostic criteria. Ä RESULTS: The analysis revealed four main subgroups: (a) patients with a younger disease onset; (b) a tremor dominant subgroup of patients; (c) a non-tremor dominant subgroup with significant levels of cognitive impairment and mild depression; and (d) a subgroup with rapid disease progression but no cognitive impairment."

In this newsletter:

General Information

	General Information
Cognitive deficits in essential tremor consistent with frontosubcortical dysfunction. (J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2008) Essential Head Tremor Is Associated with Cerebellar Vermis Atrophy: A Volumetric and Voxel-Based Morphometry MR Imaging Study. (AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2008) “CONCLUSIONS: Atrophy of the cerebellar vermis detected in patients with h-ET strongly supports the evidence for the involvement of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of ET. The lack of a significant CV loss observed in patients with a-ET suggests that a-ET and h-ET might represent distinct subtypes of the same disease.” Emergence of Parkinson's disease in essential tremor: A study of the clinical correlates in 53 patients. (Mov Disord. 2008) [Tremor : Differential diagnosis and treatment.] (Nervenarzt. 2008)