Quantitative Evaluation of Parkinsonian Tremor and the Impact on it by DBS and Drugs

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately 1-2% of the population above 60 years of age. PD is primarily characterized by motor symptoms like resting tremor, action tremor, akinesia, rigidity and postural instability. To evaluate various aspects of Parkinson's Disease and to follow the progression of disease, the physician utilizes Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Though it is widely used to evaluate the patients and determine the course of treatment, the absence of screening questions on many important aspects of PD, some metric flaws, inadequate instructions for examiners are few of the limitations. UPDRS considers resting and action tremor while evaluating a patient. Tremor can be defined as an involuntary rhythmic, asymmetric muscular activity, affecting the limbs, chin, lips, head, vocal cord and or entire body of the patients. It exists while the patient is resting or while performing various tasks. We attempted to quantify the tremor in PD patients with and without medication and compared the improvement while the patient is on treatment.