Clinical and Electrooculographical Finding in Patient with Essential Tremor

Abstract

Background: Essential Tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder, yet the location of the primary disease substrate continues to be a matter of debate. In this study, we aimed to evaluate ocular movement abnormalities with Electrooculography (EOG) in patients with ET to find a possible location of disease pathology. Methods: Electrooculographic evaluation including saccade, tracking, optokinetic, gaze and positional tests were performed to 36 ET patients and 36 healthy subjects. Patient age on the onset of the tremor, duration of the disease, characteristics and the location of the tremor were also investigated. Fahn- Tolosa-Marin tremor rating scale was used to determine the tremor severity. Differences of abnormal test results between patient and control groups were analysed with Pearson’s and Fisher’s Exact and correlation analyses of EOG tests and clinical data were performed with Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlation tests. Results: There was not any significant difference in EOG tests between the ET patients and controls. Significant correlation was only found between EOG abnormality and patient age in correlation analyses. Conclusions: Our results showed that ET patients may not have specific EOG test abnormalities. These tests would be used especially in the different diagnosis of other movement disorders.