Comparison of the Olfactory Bulb Volume and the Olfactory Tract Length Between Patients Diagnosed with Essential Tremor and Healthy Controls: Findings in Favor of Neurodegeneration

Purpose Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that this disease also has a variety of non-motor findings and may be of a neurodegenerative nature. This study aimed to evaluate the olfactory bulb volume (OBV) and the olfactory tract length (OTL) and to demonstrate possible neurodegeneration in ET patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods The study included 30 ET patients (mean age=29.53±11.82 years) and 30 healthy controls (mean age=30.00±11.68 years). In the cranial MRI examination of both groups, the right, left and total OBV values ​​were measured in mm(3) and the right and left OTL values ​​were calculated manually in mm. Results There was no significant difference between the patient and control groups in the measured OBV values, but the OTL value of the patient group was statistically significantly lower than the control group. Conclusion Our study showed that the olfactory system might be involved in ET cases. We think that olfactory dysfunction, one of the non-motor symptoms in ET, can be clearly elucidated through both anatomical and functional studies, to be conducted with larger patient groups.