Evaluation of electronic equipment for quantitative registration of tremor

Objectives - To test new electronic equipment, TREMOR, for quantitative registration of rest tremor and kinetic tremor of the extremities. Patients and methods - The tremor intensity of rest tremor and kinetic tremor was studied in 14 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Clonazepam was used in an open study in 11 MS patients to evaluate the sensitivity of TREMOR, compared to the clinical observations. Results - We found no diurnal variations in tremor. Five patients discontinued the trial because of side effects due to clonazepam. Clonazepam significantly reduced clinically rest tremor in all 6 patients and clinically kinetic tremor in 5 patients. Tested by TREMOR all patients showed significant reduction in rest tremor and kinetic tremor. Correlation between electronic assessment of kinetic tremor, clinical score and Peg board test were good. Conclusion - TREMOR was found useful for assessment of the severity of tremor in patients with kinetic tremor and thereby avoid intra- and interobserver variation.