Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics of all 23 patients with a task specific tremor at the instrument
| Gender | Age (yrs) | Instrument | Age when starting to play the instrument (yrs) | Age at onset of TST (yrs) | Time until TST onset since beginning to play (yrs) | TST duration (yrs) | Tremor location | Type A tremor | Type B tremor | Spreading of tremor | Previous trauma | Medication | Botulinum toxin | Ethanol responsive | Family history for movement disorders | DBS | Tremor frequency (Hz) | Still plays in the orchestra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat. 1 | Male | 40 | Sax | 12 | 27 | 15 | 13 | Wrist | l | n | y | y (overuse) | Thx | y | n | n | n | 7.3 | n |
| Pat. 2 | Male | 62 | Violin | 8 | 46 | 38 | 16 | Wrist | r | n | y | y (car accident) | Prop, Thx, Gabap,Topi, Prim | y | y | y (WC) | n | 6.4 | y |
| Pat. 3 | Male | 54 | Violin | 12 | 43 | 31 | 11 | Wrist | r | n | y | n | Prim, Prop | n | y | y (tremor) | n | 4.9 | y |
| Pat. 4 | Male | 48 | Violin | 4 | 40 | 36 | 8 | Wrist | r | n | y | n | Prim, Prop | y | y | n | n | 6.8 | y |
| Pat. 5 | Female | 50 | Violin | 13 | 43 | 30 | 7 | Wrist | r | y | n | y (overuse) | Prop, Thx | n | n | n | n | 6.4 | y |
| Pat. 6 | Female | 24 | Violin | 5 | 10 | 5 | 14 | Wrist | r | n | n | n | Thx, Mad, Cip, Prop | n | ? | n | n | 6.8 | Student |
| Pat. 7 | Male | 59 | Violin | 7 | 58 | 51 | 1 | Wrist | r | n | n | y (finger injury) | Thx | n | n | n | n | 8.3 | y |
| Pat. 8 | Male | 62 | Violin | 7 | 59 | 52 | 3 | Wrist | r | n | y | y (overuse) | Prop, Thx | n | ? | n | n | 7.1 | y |
| Pat. 9 | Male | 54 | Violin | 10 | 44 | 34 | 10 | Wrist | r | y | n | n | Prop | n | n | y (tremor, PD) | n | 4.6 | y |
| Pat. 10 | Male | 54 | Guitar | 11 | 45 | 34 | 9 | Pron/Sup | r | y | y | n | Thx | n | y | n | n | 6.8 | Teacher |
| Pat. 11 | Female | 58 | Cello | 7 | 56 | 49 | 2 | Pron/Sup | l | n | n | y (fracture radius + ulna) | Prop | n | ? | n | n | 6.1 | y |
| Pat. 12 | Male | 63 | Cello | 9 | 61 | 52 | 2 | Pron/Sup | l | n | n | n | none | n | n | n | n | 5.1 | Retired |
| Pat. 13 | Male | 56 | Sax | 10 | 47 | 37 | 9 | Wrist | l | n | y | n | Prop | y | y | n | n | 6.4 | y (Big Band) |
| Pat. 14 | Female | 55 | Oboe | 15 | 50 | 35 | 5 | Elbow | r | n | y | n | Prop, Prim | y | n | n | n | 6.4 | y |
| Pat. 15 | Male | 57 | Violin | 10 | 40 | 30 | 17 | Shoulder | r | y | n | y (surgery shoulder) | Vfx, Mtz, Loraz, Thx | n | ? | n | n | 6.6 | y |
| Pat. 16 | Male | 63 | Viola | 6 | 62 | 56 | 1 | Elbow | l | y | y | n | Prop, Mad | n | n | n | n | 6.4 | y |
| Pat. 17 | Male | 23 | Piano | 6 | 19 | 13 | 4 | Wrist | l | n | n | n | Prop | n | n | n | n | 6.4 | Student |
| Pat. 18 | Male | 38 | Cello | 5 | 28 | 23 | 10 | Wrist | r | y | n | n* | Thx, Cip, Mad | n | n | y | n | 6.8 | y |
| Pat. 19 | Male | 58 | Violin | 9 | 57 | 48 | 1 | Wrist | r | y | n | y (surgery rotaor cuff) | Bromazepam | n | n | y (ET) | n | 7.6 | y |
| Pat. 20 | Male | 55 | Violin | 12 | 54 | 42 | 1 | Wrist | r | y | n | y (pain shoulder) | Prop | n | y | y (ET) | n | 6.1 | y |
| Pat. 21 | Male | 59 | Violin | 12 | 49 | 37 | 10 | Elbow | r | y | n | n | - | n | ? | y (ET) | n | 7.8 | Teacher |
| Pat. 22 | Male | 55 | Oboe | 13 | 54 | 41 | 1 | Elbow | l | y | y | n | Prop | n | n | y (ET) | n | 6.1 | Self employed |
| Pat. 23 | Male | 38 | Percussion | 14 | 33 | 19 | 5 | Wrist | l | n | y | n | Cip, Prop | n | n | y (PD) | n | - | y |
*This patient had a dystonia that improved before tremor occured. Abbreviations: yrs years, Pat. patient, DBS deep brain stimulation, r right, l left, y yes, n no, Prop propranolol, Thx Trihexyphenidyl, Gabap Gabapentin, Topi topiramat, Prim primidone, Mad madopar, Cip cipralex, Vfx venlafaxin, Loraz lorazepam, WC writer’s cramp, PD Parkinson’s Disease, ET essential tremor.