Open AccessFamilial orthostatic tremor and essential tremor in two young brothers: A rare entity
Author(s) -
Kalyan B Bhattacharyya,
Debasis Das
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
annals of indian academy of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1998-3549
pISSN - 0972-2327
DOI - 10.4103/0972-2327.112497
Subject(s) - medicine , isometric exercise , orthostatic vital signs , electromyography , family history , physical medicine and rehabilitation , essential tremor , physical examination , physical therapy , surgery , blood pressure
Orthostatic tremor (OT), is usually a disease of old age and is characterized by quivering movements of the legs during quiet standing or in the state of isometric contraction in the lower limbs. This is relieved on walking or on lying down. It is diagnosed by surface electromyography, particularly over the quadriceps femoris muscles which shows a distinctive frequency of 13 to 18 Hz on standing. Some investigators consider it as a variant of essential tremor (ET) and the two conditions often co-exist. The disease is usually non-familial. Two brothers presented with tremor in the lower limbs on standing and on the outstretched hands without any family history. Subsequently, they were proved to be suffering from OT and ET by clinical examination and surface EMG. Simultaneous occurrence of OT and ET in two young brothers without any family history in the previous generation has not been described before and they also appeared at a much earlier age than what is described in the literature.