Tremor is a rhythmic, involuntary muscular contraction varcharacterized by oscillations (to-and-fro movements) of a part of the body. The most common of all involuntary movements, tremor can affect various body parts such as the hands, head, facial structures, vocal cords, trunk, and legs; most tremors, however, occur in the hands. Tremor often accompanies neurological disorders associated with aging. Although the disorder is not life-threatening, it can be responsible for functional disability and social embarrassment.
Causes of Drug Induced Tremor
Various medications or drugs can induce a variety of tremors. They act directly and indirectly on the circuitry within the central nervous system.
Signs and Symptoms of Drug Induced Tremor
There are five categories of tremor within this classification: resting, postural, kinetic, task-specific, and psychogenic. Resting or static tremor occurs when the muscle is at rest, for example when the hands are lying on the lap. This type of tremor is often seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Postural tremor occurs when a patient attempts to maintain posture, such as holding the hands outstretched. Postural tremors include physiological tremor, essential tremor, tremor with basal ganglia disease (also seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease), cerebellar postural tremor, tremor with peripheral neuropathy, post-traumatic tremor, and alcoholic tremor. Kinetic or intention (action) tremor occurs during purposeful movement, for example during finger-to-nose testing. Task-specific tremor appears when performing goal-oriented tasks such as handwriting, speaking, or standing. This group consists of primary writing tremor, vocal tremor, and orthostatic tremor. Psychogenic tremor occurs in both older and younger patients. The key feature of this tremor is that it dramatically lessens or disappears when the patient is distracted.
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Medical Content Last Updated on 07/12/2008
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