Development of Parkinson’s glove for detection and suppression of hand tremor at rest among the tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease patients with medically intractable tremor.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of an electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) as a treatment for drug resistant tremor in PD patients by identifying of the most suitable stimulation protocols for tremor reduction and to seek out for the best location for placement of the surface electrodes (phase 1) and developing the Parkinson’s glove and test for its efficacy in suppression of hand tremor at rest among the tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease patients with medically intractable tremor (phase 2). From phase 1 study, 34 PD patients with classic resting tremor was recruited. The suitable stimulation protocol and the best location for stimulating were identified. Compared to before stimulation, we observed a significant reduction in tremor parameters during stimulation. From phase 2 study, the Parkinson’s glove was developed and tested for its efficacy compare with a sham glove among 40 PD patients with intractable hand tremor in a randomized-controlled study. Forty PD patients were randomly allocated into 20 patients in the Parkinson’s glove group and 20 patients in the sham glove group. During intervention, Parkinson’s glove group showed significant tremor reduction compared to a sham group determined by reduction in the tremor amplitude parameters, but not with tremor frequency. Parkinson’s glove might become a therapeutic option for tremor reduction among those PD patients with medically intractable tremor.