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PubMed2002

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of weights on amplitude and frequency of postural hand tremor in people with Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of weights on postural hand tremor related to self-feeding in subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). DESIGN: In a repeated-measures design, postural hand tremor was recorded three times in each of three weight conditions in a single session for each subject. The order of all recording conditions was randomized. SETTING: Intervention was applied and measurement was conducted in a university-based motor performance laboratory. SUBJECTS: Fourteen men and two women diagnosed with PD and having hand tremor participated (mean age 67.1 years, mean duration of PD 4.6 years). All were community-dwelling. INTERVENTION: The control condition consisted of holding a built-up spoon (108 g). There were two experimental conditions: holding a weighted spoon (248 g); and holding the built-up spoon while wearing a weighted wrist cuff (470 g). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Three measures of tremor amplitude and two measures of tremor frequency were calculated from recordings of displacement of the spoon obtained from laser displacement sensors. RESULTS: Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed no significant differences across conditions in any measure of tremor amplitude or in either measure of tremor frequency. Correlational and Mann-Whitney U-test analyses revealed that none of age, disease duration or medication intake had any significant relationship with tremor amplitude in the control condition or with whether amplitude was altered by weights. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that there is no support for the clinical recommendation of using weighted utensils or weighted wrist cuffs to alleviate postural hand tremor in PD.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2003

Deep brain stimulation of the VIM thalamic nucleus modifies several features of essential tremor.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacologic interventions (e.g., beta blockers) and thalamic lesions have failed to alter the pathophysiology of essential tremor (ET) beyond a reduction in tremor amplitude. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate (VIM) nucleus of the thalamus successfully reduces tremor rating scores. It is unknown how VIM DBS alters the pathophysiologic characteristics of ET. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of VIM DBS on the neurophysiologic characteristics of ET. METHODS: Hand tremor and EMG activity of forearm extensor and flexor muscles were recorded in six patients with ET ON-DBS and OFF-DBS and from six age- and sex-matched control subjects. Hand tremor was assessed across different inertial loads. The amplitude, frequency, regularity, and tremor-EMG coherence were analyzed. RESULTS: VIM DBS reduced the amplitude, increased the frequency, decreased the regularity, and reduced the 1 to 8 Hz tremor-EMG coherence of ET. ON-DBS, patients with ET had greater tremor amplitude, lower frequency, more regularity, and greater tremor-EMG coherence compared to control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas pharmacologic and thalamic lesions have previously failed to change characteristics of ET beyond amplitude reduction, VIM DBS modified multiple features of ET. The changes in ET after VIM DBS provide strong evidence for clinical efficacy.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Physiologic and essential tremor.

We studied physiologic and essential hand tremor using inertial loading; hand acceleration and forearm EMG data were analyzed by auto- and cross-spectral analysis. Early essential tremor was qualitatively similar to the 8- to 12-Hz component of physiologic tremor, suggesting that this tremor component is a forme fruste of essential tremor. Advanced essential tremor had a frequency of 4 to 8 Hz. Patients with tremor frequencies in both ranges were observed in each of 10 families. In antagonistic forearm muscles, both synchronous and alternating tremor bursts were observed in 11 of 44 patients. Essential tremor should not be classified solely on the basis of frequency or EMG pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Kinetic predominant essential tremor: successful treatment with clonazepam.

Fourteen patients with marked kinetic tremors of long duration but no other major neurologic signs are described. A positive family history of essential tremor, mild postural tremor, and tremor suppression with alcohol suggest that the condition is a variant of essential tremor. Kinetic tremors had a frequency of 3.5 to 6.0 Hz and an alternating EMG pattern. Propranolol caused improvement in some patients, but clonazepam treatment resulted in tremor suppression in all patients. Kinetic tremor without cerebellar signs is a subtype of essential tremor with pharmacologic responsiveness to clonazepam.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Isolated tremor and disruption of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system: an 18F-dopa PET study.

We measured striatal 18F-dopa influx constants (Ki) for 20 patients with isolated, predominantly postural, tremor (eight familial, 12 sporadic) and 11 with predominantly rest tremor. Results were compared with 30 controls and 16 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The eight familial essential tremor (ET) patients had normal striatal 18F-dopa uptake. Two of the 12 sporadic postural tremor patients had subnormal putamen 18F-dopa Ki, one (who later became akinetic) falling in the PD range. The mean putamen 18F-dopa uptake of the 11 rest tremor patients was reduced to PD levels (51% of normal). Our findings argue against an association between ET and PD, but support the existence of a "benign" tremulous variant of PD. The presence of low-amplitude rest tremor, cogwheel rigidity, reduced arm swing, and short tremor duration was not a useful predictor of nigral dysfunction in patients with postural tremor. In contrast, patients with predominantly rest tremor, particularly with onset in the leg, consistently showed reduced putamen 18F-dopa uptake.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The metabolic anatomy of tremor in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To identify regional metabolic brain networks related specifically to the presence of tremor in PD. BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of parkinsonian tremor is unknown. Because tremor in PD occurs mainly in repose, we used resting state PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to identify specific metabolic brain networks associated with this clinical manifestation. METHODS: We studied two discrete groups of eight PD patients with and without tremor using FDG/PET. Both patient groups were matched for gender, age, and Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale ratings for akinesia and rigidity. Ten normal volunteer subjects served as controls. RESULTS: Network analysis with the Scaled Subprofile Model was performed in two steps. 1) We computed the expression of the PD-related pattern (PDRP) identified by us previously in each of the PD patients and control subjects. Although PDRP subject scores were abnormally elevated in the combined PD cohort (p < 0.005), these values did not differ in the PD patient groups with and without tremor (p = 0.36). 2) We used SSM to analyze the data from the combined PD cohort comprising both patient groups. We found that PD patients with tremor were characterized by increased expression of a metabolic network comprising the thalamus, pons, and premotor cortical regions. Subject scores for this pattern were elevated in the tremor group compared with the atremulous patient group and the normal control group (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that PD patients with tremor are characterized by distinct increases in the functional activity of thalamo-motor cortical projections. Modulation of this functional anatomic pathway is likely to be the mechanism for successful interventions for the relief of parkinsonian tremor.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Outcome after stereotactic thalamotomy for parkinsonian, essential, and other types of tremor.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying movement disorders, coupled with refinements in surgical technique, has led to a resurgence of interest in the surgical treatment of patients with tremor. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 60 patients (62 patient sides) with medically intractable tremor who underwent stereotactic thalamotomy. Of these 60 patients, 42 had Parkinson's disease (of whom 2 patients underwent bilateral surgery for a total of 44 patient sides), 6 had essential tremor, 6 had cerebellar tremor, and 6 had post-traumatic tremor. The patients received follow-up for as long as 13 years (mean, 53.4 mo) after their operations. At the most recent follow-up visit, 86% of the patients with Parkinson's disease, 83% of the patients with essential tremor, 67% of the patients with cerebellar tremor, and 50% of the patients with post-traumatic tremor had cessation of or moderate-to-marked improvement in their contralateral tremor, with a concomitant improvement in function. The mean daily dose of levodopa for those patients preoperatively taking levodopa (n = 35) was reduced by approximately 156 mg at a mean of 53.4 months after thalamotomy. Immediate postoperative complications were common, occurring in 58% of patients. The most common complications were contralateral weakness (34%), dysarthria (29%), and confusion (23%). These complications generally resolved rapidly during the postoperative period.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Thalamic deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: relation of lead location to outcome.

OBJECTIVE: Thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) is commonly used to treat essential tremor, but the optimal lead location within the thalamus has not been systematically evaluated. We examined the relation of lead location to clinical outcome in a series of essential tremor patients treated by thalamic DBS. METHODS: Fifty-seven leads in 37 patients were studied. Lead locations were measured by postoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Contralateral arm tremor was assessed in the DBS-on and DBS-off states using the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin tremor rating scale, with a mean follow-up of 26 months. Lead locations were statistically correlated, using analysis of variance, with percent improvement in tremor resulting from DBS activation. RESULTS: Improvement in tremor score was significantly correlated with lead location in both the anteroposterior and lateral dimensions. In the plane of the commissures, the optimal electrode location was determined statistically to be 6.3 mm anterior to the posterior commissure and 12.3 mm lateral to the midline, or 10.0 mm lateral to the third ventricle. CONCLUSION: Optimal electrode location for thalamic DBS in essential tremor corresponds to the anterior margin of the ventralis intermedius nucleus. Leads located greater than 2 mm (in the plane of the commissures) from the optimal coordinates are more likely to be associated with poor tremor control than leads within 2 mm of the optimal location. The incidence of true physiological tolerance to the antitremor effect of thalamic DBS (defined as poor tremor control in spite of lead location within 2 mm of the optimal site) was found to be 9%.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Dual electrode thalamic deep brain stimulation for the treatment of posttraumatic and multiple sclerosis tremor.

OBJECTIVE: To report the results of ventralis intermedius nucleus/ventralis oralis posterior nucleus (VIM) plus ventralis oralis anterior (VOA)/ventralis oralis posterior (VOP) thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of posttraumatic and multiple sclerosis tremor. OBJECTIVE: The treatment of posttraumatic tremor and multiple sclerosis tremor, by either medication or surgery, has proven difficult. Lesions and DBS have had mixed and somewhat disappointing results. Previously, we reported the use of two DBS electrodes (one at the VIM/VOP border and one at the VOA/VOP border) as effective for the treatment of posttraumatic tremor in a single patient. In this study, we report the results of this technique on four patients. METHODS: Four patients with either posttraumatic tremor (n = 3) or multiple sclerosis tremor (n = 1) underwent placement of two DBS electrodes (one at the VIM/VOP border and one at the VOA/VOP border). Patients underwent preoperative testing and testing at a minimum of 6 months after implantation in four conditions: On VIM DBS/On VOA/VOP DBS; On VIM DBS/Off VOA VOP DBS (5 h DBS washout); Off VIM DBS/Off VOA/VOP DBS (12 h overnight washout); and Off VIM DBS/On VOA/VOP DBS (5 h DBS washout). RESULTS: Each of the patients showed improvements in all four conditions when compared with the baseline. All of the improvements were maintained with chronic DBS, without tremor rebound. An analysis was performed to determine whether each condition was associated with symptom reduction (percentage change). The percentage reduction was significant for each condition and measure, despite the small number of participants. For the total tremor rating scale score, the Off VIM/Off VOA/VOP condition yielded less symptom reduction than the On VIM condition or the On VOA/VOP condition. The On VIM and On VOA/VOP conditions did not differ significantly from each other in terms of contralateral upper extremity symptoms or total clinical score. Activation of both the VIM and VOA/VOP electrodes was associated with the greatest symptom reduction. CONCLUSION: Tremors, such as those examined in this study, that are refractory to medications and have a poor response to VIM DBS monotherapy, may respond favorably to VIM plus VOA/VOP DBS. Two electrodes may be better than one for the treatment of certain disorders; however, more study will be required to confirm this hypothesis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

[Power spectral analysis of tremor induced by TRH and oxotremorine in mice].

Tremor induced by TRH and oxotremorine was recorded by a capacitance transducer, and its intensity and frequency were evaluated using power arrays. In mice treated with TRH (20 mg/kg, i.p.), the latency of tremor was 17.1 +/- 1.7 min (mean +/- S.E.) and the duration was 20.4 +/- 2.2 min, while the frequency was 13.7 +/- 0.3 Hz. In animals with oxotremorine (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), the latency was 4.3 +/- 0.4 min and the duration was 18 +/- 2.2 min, while the frequency was 12.7 +/- 0.3 Hz. The latter frequency, however, was significantly shifted to a lower frequency as a function of time. In TRH-induced tremor, vertical movements appeared in the same degree as horizontal movements. In oxotremorine-induced tremor, the vertical movements were few, whereas the horizontal movements were observed in a degree similar to those of TRH. The TRH tremor was suppressed by haloperidol and propranolol, but not by atropine. On the contrary, the oxotremorine tremor was inhibited by atropine, but not by haloperidol or propranolol. These results suggest that mechanisms of tremor induced by TRH differ qualitatively from those by oxotremorine; dopaminergic and beta-adrenergic receptor mediated functions may be linked to the developments of tremor caused by TRH, while cholinergic systems have a little effect in mice. The apparatus used in this study and power spectral analysis with power arrays may provide a useful method for simultaneous evaluation of the latency, duration, intensity and frequency of tremors.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Essential tremor. Clinical observations].

The authors have studied 53 patients with essential tremor, focusing its clinical and epidemiological aspects. There were familial history in 37.70% of all cases, prevailing in females (56.60%) and white people (69.80%); nevertheless this difference can not be assured from the statistical point of view due to lack of population data. We agreed that the main incidence of this syndrome occurred beyond the 5th decade, specially during the 6th and 7th decades. Topographically, we could observe that the hand tremor predominanted, with an incidence of 96.20% of the total number of cases, followed by head tremor (28.30%), voice tremor (16.99%), leg tremor (11.30%), tongue tremor (3.78%) and trunk tremor (1.88%). These focal tremors were seldom observed alone and we noted frequent association with hand tremor.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Gamma knife radiosurgery for thalamotomy in parkinsonian tremor: a five-year experience.

OBJECT: Certain patients, for example, elderly high-risk surgical patients, may be unfit for radiofrequency thalamotomy to treat parkinsonian tremor. Some patients, when given the opportunity, may choose to avoid an invasive surgical procedure. The authors retrospectively reviewed their experience using gamma knife radiosurgery for thalamotomies in this patient subpopulation: 1) to determine the efficacy of the procedure; 2) to see if there is a dose-response relationship; 3) to review radiological findings of radiosurgical lesioning; and 4) to assess the risks of complications. METHODS: Radiosurgical nucleus ventralis intermedius thalamotomy using the gamma knife unit was performed to make 38 lesions in 24 men and 10 women (median age 73 years, range 58-87 years) over a 5-year period. A median radiation dose of 130 Gy (range 100-165 Gy) was delivered to 38 nuclei (four patients underwent bilateral thalamotomy) using a single 4-mm collimator following classic anatomical landmarks. Twenty-nine lesions were made in the left nucleus ventralis intermedius thalamus for right-sided tremor. Patients were followed for a median of 28 months (range 6-58 months). Independent neurological evaluation of tremor based on the change in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale tremor score was correlated with subjective patient evaluation. Comparison was made between a subgroup of patients in whom "low-dose" lesions were made (range 110-135 Gy, mean 120 Gy) and those in whom "high-dose" lesions were made (range 140-165 Gy, mean 160 Gy) for purposes of dose-response information. Four thalamotomies (10.5%) failed, four (10.5%) produced mild improvement, 11 (29%) produced good improvement, and 10 (26%) produced excellent relief of tremor. In nine thalamotomies (24%) the tremor was eliminated completely. The median time to onset of improvement was 2 months (range 1 week-8 months). Concordance between an independent neurologist's evaluation and that of the patient was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Two patients who underwent unilateral thalamotomy experienced bilateral improvement in their tremor. There were no neurological complications. There was better tremor reduction in the high-dose group than in the low-dose group (p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Although less effective than other stereotactic techniques, gamma knife radiosurgery for thalamotomy offers tremor control with minimal risk to patients unsuited for open surgery.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Reliability of some tremor measurement outcome variables in field testing situations.

OBJECTIVE: Many summary measures of data obtained from tremor measurement procedures are commonly reported. The reliability of many of these summary measures of tremor measurements made in field testing situations is unknown. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the reliability of a number of summary measures produced by the software of a widely used, commercially available tremor measurement instrument using data collected in three field epidemiologic studies. METHODS: Tremor data were obtained from 689 participants in 3 previously conducted studies of groups exposed to elemental mercury or arsenic. A widely used, commercially available tremor measurement instrument was used. Two-axis accelerometer measurements were obtained on 2 or more trials from each hand for each participant. Estimates of trial-to-trial and internal consistency reliability were calculated for 5 summary measures calculated by instrument manufacturer's software and 5 additional summary measures calculated from data output by the software. RESULTS: An RMS acceleration measure had the highest reliability in all 3 studies. The average over 4 trials of RMS acceleration and its logarithm had high reliability (>0.9). Recalculation of a tremor summary index and a harmonicity index as suggested by Edwards and Beuter (1999) resulted in measures with higher reliability and better distributional shape than the corresponding measures provided by the instrument manufacturer's software. The results in all three studies were similar. CONCLUSIONS: For the tremor measurement instrument and testing procedure that we employed, we recommend using the common logarithm of the RMS accelerations and recalculated tremor index as summary measures. We also recommend employing multiple trials of each type (e.g., with each hand) and averaging summary measures from those trials to derive outcome measures of tremor for use in epidemiologic studies. We recommend at least 2 trials for RMS acceleration measures and more for less reliable measures, particularly for designs employing repeated measurements of individuals. Summary measures averaged over at least 4 trials for mean frequency, dispersion of frequency, and power in the 3-6.5 and 6.6-10 Hz frequency ranges have sufficiently high reliability for use in epidemiologic studies.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Evaluation of postural tremor of finger for neuromuscular diseases and its application to the classification.

The purpose of this study is to verify the features of the power spectrum of postural tremors for neuromuscular disease patients and to classify the postural tremors. The subjects were 88 neuromuscular disease patients (30 Parkinson disease (PD), 25 cerebellar disease (CER), 7 multiple sclerosis (MS), 7 neuropathy (NEU), 10 motor neuron disease (MND), 9 myopathy (MYO)). The control subjects were 12 normal young persons and 10 normal aged persons. Postural tremor was detected by accelerator sensor. Postural tremor was recorded under the two postural conditions: The subjects maintained the index finger without or with a weight load of 50 g in a horizontal position while looking at a visual target in front of the tip of the index finger. The power spectrum was calculated by an auto-regressive model (AR model). The peak frequency and the peak power were evaluated under the two conditions. Two frequency components of 8-12 Hz and 20-25 Hz appeared in the postural tremor of both normal subjects and neuromuscular disease patients. The difference of the postural tremor between the subjects mainly appeared in the 8-12 Hz component during the postural tremor with a weight load. MYO patients belonged to one group (called as group P1) due to lower peak power, CER patients belonged to one group (called as group P2) due to higher peak power, and PD and MS patients belonged to one group (called as group P3) due to lower peak frequency and higher peak power. NER and MND patients belonged to one group (called as group N which meant normal group). These results suggested that the peak frequency and the peak power of the 8-12 Hz component were changed by the conditions of both spinal reflex system and central nervous system. An oscillator within the central nervous system produced the underlying frequency of 8-12 Hz component, while the amplitude of 8-12 Hz component was governed by both spinal reflex system and central nervous system. In conclusion, the classification of postural tremor for neuromuscular disease patients was a useful index to elucidate the mechanism of tremor oscillation and to assist in clinical diagnosis of neuromuscular disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of weight load and joint immobilization on reorganization of postural tremor.

To investigate change in coordinative strategies due to wrist immobilization and index loading, postural tremors from the index, hand, and forearm were recorded during different postural holding tasks. The wrist joint was immobilized with a thermoplastic splint in the constrained condition, and a copper mass of 100 grams was applied to the index finger in the loaded condition. The structures of the postural tremors of all upper limb segments among the unloaded-unconstrained, unloaded-constrained, loaded-unconstrained, and loaded-constrained conditions were compared. Index loading exaggerated index/forearm postural tremor, while the load-induced tremor enhancement was no longer evident for wrist immobilization. In the unloaded condition, wrist immobilization resulted specifically in enhancement of carpal postural tremor, rather than in the index and forearm. Index loading induced a marked tremor peak and relative power in the range of 5-8 Hz. Wrist immobilization potentiated the carpal tremor peak of 1-4 Hz in association with enhancement of carpal-forearm mechanical coupling. In light of structural changes in postural tremor, our data suggest that (1) a wrist splint is effective to counteract load-induced enhancement of postural tremor, and (2) freezing of the wrist joint might facilitate compensatory strategies to minimize passive fluctuation transmission from the carpal to index.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Movement-related beta responses in essential tremor and Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathomechanism of essential (ET) and parkinsonian tremor (PT) by studying the correlation between tremor severity and movement-related beta rhythm changes of the human electroencephalogram. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We recorded the electroencephalogram of 10 patients with essential tremor, 10 with Parkinsonian tremor and 10 controls. In a preliminary session we determined the side with lower and higher tremor intensity (T+, T++ respectively), using accelerometry. Subjects pressed an on-off switch in a self-paced manner with left and right thumb. After digitalization of the EEG from Cz, C3, C4 electrodes, the movement reactive beta frequency (MRBF), its minimum/maximum peak power values and their latencies triggered to movement offset were determined. RESULTS: The time course and amplitude of movement related beta desynchronization (ERD) were similar in each group regardless of tremor intensity. In ET tremor severity did not influence post-movement beta synchronization (PMBS) amplitude (PMBS(ET+) = 100.98 +/- 48.874%, PMBS(ET++) = 135.1 +/- 92.87%; p = 0.231), however it was significantly delayed after the movement of the more tremulous hand (latPMBS(ET+) = 1.26 +/- 0.566 s, latPMBS(ET++) = 1.57 +/- 0.565 s, p = 0.003). In the PT group on the side of pronounced tremor the amplitude of PMBS decreased but it was not delayed, compared to the less affected hand (PMBS(PT+) = 115.19 +/- 72.131%, PMBS(PT++) = 77.84 +/- 53.101%, p = 0.0028; latPMBS(PT+) = 1.4 +/- 0.74 s, latPMBS(PT++) = 1.25 +/- 0.797 s, p = 0.191). In controls the power and latency of PMBS was similar on both sides. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that neuronal mechanisms underlying PMBS generation are differently affected by ET and PT. Investigation of PMBS might be used for the differential diagnosis of essential tremor and Parkinson's disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Ethanol withdrawal tremor potentiates the tremorogenic action of nicotine.

The tremorogenic effect of nicotine was studied in control rats and in rats withdrawn for 16-48 h from six to nine days' ethanol administration. The frequency and the intensity of tremor were measured electronically. A single dose of nicotine 5 mg/kg caused shortlasting (2-3 min) convulsions within 1 min after injection in control rats. Tremor occurred first after five repeated injections of nicotine (5 mg/kg) at half-hour intervals. This tremor encompassed peak frequencies of 6, 10 and 15 Hz. Hexamethonium at a dose of 10 mg/kg did not inhibit the tremor but eliminated the highest peak frequency (15 Hz) and tended to increase the intensity. Propranolol 5 mg/kg completely abolished the nicotine-induced tremor in control rats. Rats withdrawn from repeated ethanol administration showed a marked hypersensitivity to the tremorogenic action of nicotine so that a single dose of 1 mg/kg of nicotine caused clear tremor. The frequency spectra of this tremor showed peak frequencies at 6, 10 and 12 Hz. Hexamethonium did not change these frequencies. Furthermore, it tended to increase the intensity of nicotine-induced tremor in ethanol-withdrawn rats. Propranolol did not inhibit the tremor although it eliminated the 12 Hz peak frequency. The results suggest that the hypersensitivity to the tremorogenic action of nicotine in ethanol-withdrawn rats is not mediated by a sympathetic beta-adrenergic mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Effect of nipradilol, a beta-adrenergic blocker with vasodilating activity, on oxotremorine-induced tremor in mice.

The effect of nipradilol, a nonselective beta-adrenergic receptor blocker with nitroglycerin-like vasodilating activity, on oxotremorine-induced tremor was studied in mice. General tremor in mice was elicited by 0.5 mg/kg oxotremorine. The tremor was quantified using a capacitance transducer, then analyzed by a signal processor. The strength of the tremor was expressed in "points". The point values of the tremor (mean +/- SE) in control mice for 5 mg/kg (+/-)-propranolol, 2.5 mg/kg arotinolol, 0.5 mg/kg nipradilol, 1.0 mg/kg nipradilol and 2.5 mg/kg nipradilol were 87 +/- 16, 42 +/- 6, 38 +/- 6, 99 +/- 28, 28 +/- 6 and 31 +/- 7, respectively. The strength of the tremor was reduced by all beta-blockers. Although 1.0 mg/kg nipradilol significantly reduced the tremor, further inhibition of the tremor was not obtained with dosages up to 2.5 mg/kg of the drug. In conclusion, nipradilol was effective for suppressing oxotremorine-induced tremor, as were other beta-blockers.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗