Table 1.
Sample Characteristics
| Essential Tremor = 19 | Control = 18 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M (SD) | Range | M (SD) | Range | p-value | |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (years) | 68.1 (11.4) | 47–84 | 64.7 (5.9) | 56–75 | 0.28 |
| Education (years) | 13.9 (3.2) | 8–20 | 13.4 (0.9) | 12–15 | 0.57 |
| Gender (M/F) | 11/8 | 12/6 | 0.42 | ||
| Mood | |||||
| BDI-II (depression) | 6.1 (3.3) | 1–12 | 4.9 (3.7) | 0–12 | 0.31 |
| General Cognitive | |||||
| MMSE | 28.6 (1.1) | 27–30 | 28.2 (1.3) | 26–30 | 0.24 |
| Clinical Characteristics | |||||
| Disease duration (years) | 23.3 (14.2) | 4–60 | - | - | - |
| TRS Total Score | 52.7 (14.9) | 21–80 | - | - | - |
| Motor TRS | 36.0 (10.0) | 16–55 | - | - | - |
| ADL TRS | 16.6 ( 6.0) | 5–25 | - | - | - |
| Medications (tremor, mood) | |||||
| Primidone | n= 5 | n= 0 | |||
| SSRI | n= 5 | n= 2 | |||
| SNRI | n= 0 | n= 2 | |||
| Benzodiazepine | n= 2 | n= 1 | |||
| Total n taking meds* | n= 10* | n= 5 | |||
Note: No significant differences between ET and control groups on any variable using independent t-test comparisons or χ2 tests (gender distribution); M = Mean; SD = standard deviation; BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory-II; MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination; TRS = Tremor Rating Scale; ADL = activities of daily living; SSRI = Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor; SNRI = Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor
*
Of the 10 ET patients taking tremor and/or mood medications, one personl was taking both primidone and escitalopram; another was taking both paraoxetine plus alprazolam.