Essential tremor: Phenotypic expression in a clinical cohort

Objectives: Examine the characteristics of an essential tremor (ET) clinical cohort including base-rate variability of several commonly accepted diagnostic criteria. Methods: A clinical series of 487 consecutive individuals diagnosed with ET were included for study. Results: The sample was 53% male, had a mean age of onset of 52, and a mean age of 71. Half of the sample had a family history of ET. Half presented with asymmetrical disease and tremor affected the arms (97%), voice (62%), and head or neck (48%). There was considerable variability in the base rate of individuals fulfilling various commonly used diagnostic criteria of ET. Conclusion: The sample was deemed representative of ET clinical cohorts. Asymmetric disease was common, and there was considerable base-rate variation across traditional ET diagnostic criteria. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.