BACKGROUND: - ET is no longer considered as a tremorgenic monosymptomatic illness but ... tremor severity assessment using The Essential Tremor Rating.
WAFIK S. BAHNASY1, Marwa Y. Badr1, Ayman M. Al-Malt1, Reham A. Amer2, Rasha A. El-Shafey3, Mona A. Kotait4 Departments of Neurology1, Psychiatry2, Diagnostic Radiology3, Audiology4, Tanta University, Egypt
ABSTRACT ◘ BACKGROUND: - ET is no longer considered as a tremorgenic monosymptomatic illness but many non-motor manifestations had been observed. ◘ OBJECTIVES: - To study the existence and pattern of cognitive decline in ET patients. ◘ METHODS: - 30 ET patients and 15 healthy controls were included and submitted to tremor severity assessment using The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS), MoCA, Stroop Color Word Test, subtest of WAIS-IV, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), brain MRI volumetry and auditory mismatch negativity (MMN). ◘ RESULTS: - There were significant impairment in the global cognitive functions, attention, working memory and executive functions in ET patients. Brain MRI volumetry showed significant reduction in cerebellar cortical and white matter volumes, thalamic volume and cerebral total white matter volume. ET patients also showed either absent or diminished amplitude and delayed MMN.
