Danish Bhatti1, Rebecca Thompson2, Yiwen Xia3, Amy Hellman4, Lorene Schmaderer5, Katie Suing6, Jennifer McKune7, Cynthia Penke8, Regan Iske9, Bobbi Jo Roeder10, Ka-Chun Siu11, John M Bertoni12, Diego Torres-Russotto13. 1. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: dbhatti@unmc.edu. 2. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: becky.thompson@unmc.edu. 3. University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Allied Health Professions, 984035 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4035, USA. Electronic address: yiwen.zia@unmc.edu. 4. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: ahellman@unmc.edu. 5. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: lschmaderer@nebraskamed.com. 6. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: ksuing@nebraskamed.com. 7. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Physical Therapy, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: jmckune@nebraskamed.com. 8. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Neurological Sciences, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: cpenke@nebraskamed.com. 9. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Neurological Sciences, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: riske@nebraskamed.com. 10. Nebraska Medicine, Department of Neurological Sciences, 987400 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7400, USA. Electronic address: broeder@nebraskamed.com. 11. University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Allied Health Professions, 984035 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4035, USA. Electronic address: kcsiu@unmc.edu. 12. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: jbertoni@unmc.edu. 13. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, 42nd and Emile, Omaha, NE 68198, USA. Electronic address: drtorres@unmc.edu.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Orthostatic Tremor (OT) is a movement disorder characterized by a sensation of unsteadiness and tremors in the 13-18 Hz range present upon standing. The pathophysiology of OT is not well understood but there is a relationship between the sensation of instability and leg tremors. Despite the sensation of unsteadiness, OT patients do not fall often and balance in OT has not been formally assessed. We present a prospective blinded study comparing balance assessment in patients with OT versus healthy controls. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 34 surface Electromyography (EMG)-confirmed primary OT subjects and 21 healthy controls. Participants underwent evaluations of balance by blinded physical therapists (PT) with standardized, validated, commonly used balance scales and tasks. RESULTS: OT subjects were mostly female (30/34, 88%) and controls were majority males (13/20, 65%). The average age of OT subjects was 68.5 years (range 54-87) and for controls was 69.4 (range 32-86). The average duration of OT symptoms was 18 years. OT subjects did significantly worse on all the balance scales and on most balance tasks including Berg Balance Scale, Functional Gait Assessment, Dynamic Gait Index, Unipedal Stance Test, Functional Reach Test and pull test. Gait speed and five times sit to stand were normal in OT. CONCLUSIONS: Common validated balance scales are significantly abnormal in primary OT. Despite the objective finding of impaired balance, OT patients do not commonly have falls. The reported sensation of unsteadiness in this patient population seems to be out of proportion to the number of actual falls. Further studies are needed to determine which components of commonly used balance scales are affected by a sensation of unsteadiness and fear of falling.
INTRODUCTION:Orthostatic Tremor (OT) is a movement disorder characterized by a sensation of unsteadiness and tremors in the 13-18 Hz range present upon standing. The pathophysiology of OT is not well understood but there is a relationship between the sensation of instability and leg tremors. Despite the sensation of unsteadiness, OT patients do not fall often and balance in OT has not been formally assessed. We present a prospective blinded study comparing balance assessment in patients with OT versus healthy controls. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 34 surface Electromyography (EMG)-confirmed primary OT subjects and 21 healthy controls. Participants underwent evaluations of balance by blinded physical therapists (PT) with standardized, validated, commonly used balance scales and tasks. RESULTS: OT subjects were mostly female (30/34, 88%) and controls were majority males (13/20, 65%). The average age of OT subjects was 68.5 years (range 54-87) and for controls was 69.4 (range 32-86). The average duration of OT symptoms was 18 years. OT subjects did significantly worse on all the balance scales and on most balance tasks including Berg Balance Scale, Functional Gait Assessment, Dynamic Gait Index, Unipedal Stance Test, Functional Reach Test and pull test. Gait speed and five times sit to stand were normal in OT. CONCLUSIONS: Common validated balance scales are significantly abnormal in primary OT. Despite the objective finding of impaired balance, OT patients do not commonly have falls. The reported sensation of unsteadiness in this patient population seems to be out of proportion to the number of actual falls. Further studies are needed to determine which components of commonly used balance scales are affected by a sensation of unsteadiness and fear of falling.
Authors: Pierre Cabaraux; Sunil K Agrawal; Huaying Cai; Rocco Salvatore Calabro; Carlo Casali; Loic Damm; Sarah Doss; Christophe Habas; Anja K E Horn; Winfried Ilg; Elan D Louis; Hiroshi Mitoma; Vito Monaco; Maria Petracca; Alberto Ranavolo; Ashwini K Rao; Serena Ruggieri; Tommaso Schirinzi; Mariano Serrao; Susanna Summa; Michael Strupp; Olivia Surgent; Matthis Synofzik; Shuai Tao; Hiroo Terasi; Diego Torres-Russotto; Brittany Travers; Jaimie A Roper; Mario Manto Journal: Cerebellum Date: 2022-04-12 Impact factor: 3.847
Authors: Rebecca Thompson; Danish E Bhatti; Amy Hellman; Sarah J Doss; Kalyan Malgireddy; James Shou; Channaiah Srikanth-Mysore; Sunil Bendi; John M Bertoni; Diego Torres-Russotto Journal: Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y) Date: 2020-12-16