Tremor as a feature of chronic relapsing and dysgammaglobulinemic polyneuropathies. Incidence and management
M. C. Dalakas, H. Teravainen and W. K. Engel
Seven patients with chronic relapsing polyneuropathy and four patients with
dysgammaglobulinemic polyneuropathy had tremor during the course of their
illness. The tremor was coarse, irregular, and unrelated to proprioception
loss, muscle weakness, or fatigue; it appeared to represent disease
activity or an early sign of a new relapse. None of these patients had
clinical signs of CNS disease or family history of essential tremor. The
tremor in all seven patients with relapsing neuropathy and in one of the
three treated patients with dysgammaglobulinemia responded to
immunosuppressive drugs that controlled the underlying immune mechanism(s)
of the disease. In two patients with dysgammaglobulinemic polyneuropathy,
the tremor improved with propranolol hydrochloride.
