Table 1.
Clinical and Pathological Data on Essential Tremor Cases and Controls
| Controls (n = 25) | Essential Tremor Cases (n = 50) | Significance | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Age (years) | 84.9 ± 5.4 | 86.8 ± 5.8 | p = 0.17 a |
|
| |||
| Women | 15 (60.0) | 31 (62.0) | p = 0.87 b |
|
| |||
| Post-mortem interval (hours) | 10.8 ± 12.8 [5.6] | 2.7 ± 3.1 [1.8] | p < 0.001c |
|
| |||
| Brain weight (grams) | 1183 ± 150 | 1187 ± 154 | p = 0.92 a |
|
| |||
| CERAD plaque score * | p = 0.32 b | ||
| 0, A or B | 16 (100) | 42 (87.5) | |
| C | 0 (0) | 6 (12.5) | |
|
| |||
| Braak and Braak neuronal tangle stage * | p = 1.00 a | ||
| 0 – 4 | 22 (95.7) | 46 (97.9) | |
| 5 or 6 | 1 (4.3) | 1 (2.1) | |
|
| |||
| Torpedo count | 4.2 ± 2.8 [3.0] | 18.5 ± 15.0 [15.0] | p < 0.001 c |
|
| |||
| 15-Field Purkinje cell body count (per 100x field) | 10.6 ± 1.4 | 7.8 ± 1.2 8.0 ± 1.0 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| 15-Field Purkinje cell nucleus count (per 100x field) | 8.5 ± 1.1 | 6.5 ± 0.9 6.6 ± 0.8 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| 15-Field Purkinje cell nucleolus count (per 100x field) | 4.2 ± 0.7 | 3.1 ± 0.8 3.3 ± 0.7 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| 15-Field approach – Purkinje cell body linear density (cells/mm) | 4.9 ± 0.7 | 3.6 ± 0.5 3.7 ± 0.5 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| 15-Field approach - Purkinje cell nucleus linear density (cells/mm) | 3.9 ± 0.5 | 3.0 ± 0.4 3.1 ± 0.4 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| 15-Field approach - Purkinje cell nucleolus linear density (cells/mm) | 2.0 ± 0.3 | 1.45 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.3 |
p < 0.001 a p < 0.001 a |
|
| |||
| Random sampling approach - Purkinje cell body linear density (cells/mm) | 4.8 ± 0.9 | 3.8 ± 0.8 4.0 ± 0.9 |
p < 0.001 a p = 0.002 a |
|
| |||
| Random sampling approach - Purkinje cell nucleus linear density (cells/mm) | 4.5 ± 0.9 | 3.6 ± 0.8 3.8 ± 0.9 |
p < 0.001 a p = 0.005 a |
|
| |||
| Random sampling approach - Purkinje cell nucleolus linear density (cells/mm) | 1.7 ± 0.4 | 1.4 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.4 |
p = 0.005 a p = 0.13 a |
|
| |||
| Purkinje cell nearest neighbor distance (μm) | 174.6 ± 41.4 | 209.3 ± 46.9 202.8 ± 45.6 |
p = 0.002 a p = 0.03 a |
All values represent mean ± standard deviation [median] or number (percentage).
For Purkinje cell counts and Purkinje cell nearest neighbor distance in ET cases, the upper value represents the data for the entire sample of 50 ET cases and the lower value represents the data for the sample which only included the 50% of ET cases with the lowest daily ethanol consumption.
a
Student’s t test.
b
Chi-square test or Fisher’s Exact test.
c
Mann-Whitney test.
*
Data not available for some brains.
Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD), μm = microns