Session Information
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2016
Session Title: Parkinson's disease: Clinical trials, pharmacology and treatment
Session Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: In this study we present the clinical characteristics of 10 patients (6 males, 4 females) with both essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Background: Some patients with ET may exhibit a combination of ET and subsequent PD. There are studies supporting a link (e.g. comorbidity) between ET and PD and studies reporting an increase in the risk of developing PD in ET patients. However there are also studies reporting that ET and PD are mutually independent disorders. So discussion about this topic stil remains in the literature.
Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of 10 patients with the ET-PD combination diagnosed in our clinic in last one year.
Results: All of the patients had initially ET, and they developed PD average 13 years (2 to 27) later. One-third of them reported a REM sleep behavior disorder, and % 50 described a family history of ET. In all of the patients, tremor was asymmetric; however, in 9 patients, PD symptoms had began on the same side as the more severe ET. While, 100 % of the cases had rest tremor and bradykinesia, only 60 % of the patients exhibited a mild rigidity. Table shows the clinical characteristics of 10 patients with the ET – PD combination
| The Patients | Age (Years)/Sex | ET Duration (Years) | RBD | Asymetry | HT | Rigidity | BK |
| 1 | 61/F | 20 | ++ | ++ | – | – | ++ |
| 2 | 73/M | 20 | – | + | – | – | + |
| 3 | 60/F | 3 | – | + | – | + | ++ |
| 4 | 78/F | 6 | + | ++ | – | – | ++ |
| 5 | 65/M | 15 | + | + | – | + | + |
| 6 | 39/M | 23 | – | + | – | – | + |
| 7 | 69/M | 27 | – | ++ | + | + | ++ |
| 8 | 68/M | 2 | – | + | – | + | ++ |
| 9 | 79/M | 5 | – | ++ | – | + | ++ |
| 10 | 68/F | 10 | – | ++ | + | + | + |
Conclusions: We think that ET may increase the risk of subsequent PD. In patients with a combination of ET and PD, severity of parkinsonism may be less than isolated PD. Further studies are needed to fully understand the relationship between ET and PD.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
D. Aygun. Association of Parkinson’s disease with essential tremor [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-parkinsons-disease-with-essential-tremor/. Accessed May 21, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-parkinsons-disease-with-essential-tremor/