Somatosensory temporal discrimination in essential tremor and isolated head and voice tremors.
The aim of this study was to investigate the somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold in patients with essential tremor (sporadic and familial) and to evaluate whether somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold values differ depending on the body parts involved by tremor. We also investigated the somatosensory temporal discrimination in patients with isolated voice tremor. We enrolled 61 patients with tremor: 48 patients with essential tremor (31 patients with upper limb tremor alone, nine patients with head tremor alone, and eight patients with upper limb plus head tremor; 22 patients with familial vs. 26 sporadic essential tremor), 13 patients with isolated voice tremor, and 45 healthy subjects. Somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold values were normal in patients with familial essential tremor, whereas they were higher in patients with sporadic essential tremor. When we classified patients according to tremor distribution, somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold values were normal in patients with upper limb tremor and abnormal only in patients with isolated head tremor. Temporal discrimination threshold values were also abnormal in patients with isolated voice tremor. Somatosensory temporal discrimination processing is normal in patients with familial as well as in patients with sporadic essential tremor involving the upper limbs. By contrast, somatosensory temporal discrimination is altered in patients with isolated head tremor and voice tremor. This study with somatosensory temporal discrimination suggests that isolated head and voice tremors might possibly be considered as separate clinical entities from essential tremor.
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.|IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy.
Antonella
A
Conte
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Gina
G
Ferrazzano
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Nicoletta
N
Manzo
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Giorgio
G
Leodori
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.|IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy.
Giovanni
G
Fabbrini
Movement Disorders Center, TWH, UHN, Division of Neurology, Toronto Western Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Alfonso
A
Fasano
Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Michele
M
Tinazzi
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.|IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy.
Alfredo
A
Berardelli
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006257:Head; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014202:Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014831:Voice; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*
essential tremor; isolated tremor; somatosensory temporal discrimination