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A case of task-specific jaw tremor

YH. Lau, KM. Lau, JP. Joseph, AS. Mawardi (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Meeting: MDS Virtual Congress 2021

Abstract Number: 1349

Keywords: Tremors: Clinical features

Category: Tremor

Objective: –

Background: case report: Isolated task- specific jaw tremor is unusual and has been rarely reported. Herein, we reported a case of task-specific jaw tremor triggered by drinking. A 75-year-old housewife who has background of diabetes mellitus, presented with a 3-year history of involuntary movement affecting the jaw upon drinking. It could be reduced by drinking via a straw. It was not present when she mimed drinking from a cup or while eating. She did not have speech or swallowing difficulty. She denied stiffness, slowness of the limbs or abnormal movement of other body parts. There was no jaw pain, sleep disturbances, oral injury, dental procedure, consumption of anti-psychotic medication or substance abuse. The movement was not reduced by alcohol nor aggravated by stress. There was no family history of tremor or Parkinson Disease. Physical examination did not reveal tremor of the jaw, lips, head or limbs at rest. Jaw tremor emerged when the patient drank from a cup and it was not suppressible.  There was no bradykinesia, cogwheel rigidity and dystonia. Other neurological findings were unremarkable. Haematology screens, biochemistry, thyroid function test, inflammatory markers and paraneoplastic test were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed normal study with age-appropriate cerebral involution. This patient was diagnosed as isolated task-specific jaw tremor associated with drinking. Since she had no improvement with trihexyphenidyl, she declined further treatment.  Discussion: Task-specific tremors usually occur in individuals who perform the affected motor task repetitively and frequently.1 Primary writing tremor is the most common form of task-specific tremor.2 Only few studies had reported isolated jaw or lip tremor when drinking.3 4 5 6The tremors were described previously as position sensitive, precipitated by jaw position alone or together with drinking,3 4 aggravated by stress 3 and improved with alcohol 5or closing the mouth. 3 Botulinum toxin therapy could improve task-specific orolingual tremor.3 Interestingly, our case demonstrated an isolated task-specific jaw tremor which was solely caused by drinking from a cup without the characteristics mentioned above, and the tremor seemed to be reduced by drinking using a straw, but not completely. In conclusion, isolated task-specific jaw tremor triggered by drinking is rare and botulinum toxin therapy could be an effective treatment.

Method: –

Results: –

Conclusion: –

References: [1] Bhatia KP, Bain P, Bajaj N, Elble RJ, Hallett M, Louis ED, Raethjen J, Stamelou M, Testa CM, Deuschl G; Tremor Task Force of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. Consensus Statement on the classification of tremors. from the task force on tremor of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. Mov Disord. 2018 Jan;33(1):75-87. doi: 10.1002/mds.27121. Epub 2017 Nov 30. PMID: 29193359; PMCID: PMC6530552. [2] Bain PG, Findley LJ, Britton TC, et al. Primary writing tremor. Brain 1995;116:203–209. [3] Tarsy D, Ro SI. Unusual position-sensitive jaw tremor responsive to botulinum toxin. Mov Disord 2006;21:277–278. [4] Miles TS, Findley LJ, Rothwell JC. Electrophysiological observations on an unusual, task specific jaw tremor. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1997;63:251–254. PubMed PMID: 9285468; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2169678. [5] O’Gorman CM, Bower JH, Matsumoto JY, Kantarci OH, Kumar N. When Drinking Makes the Tremor Worse: A Task-Specific Orolingual Tremor. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2014 Jun 4;1(3):237-239. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.12041. PMID: 30363876; PMCID: PMC6183252 [6] Macerollo A, Meppelink AM, Teodoro T, Ricciardi L, Cordivari C, Edwards MJ. Isolated task-specific lip tremor. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2016 Aug;29:138-9. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2016.04.019. Epub 2016 Apr 21. PMID: 27118488.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

YH. Lau, KM. Lau, JP. Joseph, AS. Mawardi. A case of task-specific jaw tremor [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-case-of-task-specific-jaw-tremor/. Accessed June 15, 2025.
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