164: Tremor vs Dyskinesia: Practical Bedside Clues for Clinicians

Welcome to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments® podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in neurology sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice.In this Mind Moments episode, Julie Kurek, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Augusta University/Wellstar-MCG, joins the podcast to provide a clinical breakdown of how neurologists can differentiate dyskinesia from tremor in patients with Parkinson disease and other movement disorders. Drawing from bedside experience, Kurek outlines the key phenomenologic differences between these movements, emphasizing the importance of rhythm, distribution, and overall movement quality in distinguishing the two. The conversation also explores how timing in relation to levodopa dosing serves as a critical diagnostic anchor, including recognition of peak-dose and biphasic dyskinesias. Kurek discusses real-world challenges in identifying patient-specific patterns, the importance of clinician–patient communication, and common diagnostic pitfalls, particularly in younger-onset or atypical presentations. She also highlights the growing role of digital tools, including wearable sensors and adaptive deep brain stimulation, in improving longitudinal monitoring and refining diagnostic accuracy in movement disorders.Looking for more Movement disorder discussion? Check out the NeurologyLive® Movement disorder clinical focus page.Episode Breakdown: 1:10 – Clinical features distinguishing tremor vs dyskinesia at bedside  3:50 – Role of medication timing and levodopa response patterns 9:00 – Identifying patient-specific patterns and symptom awareness challenges  13:20 – Neurology News Network  16:10 – Common diagnostic pitfalls in Parkinson disease and movement disorders 17:50 – Role of wearables, biomarkers, and adaptive DBS in differentiation The stories featured in this week's Neurology News Minute, which will give you quick updates on the following developments in neurology, are further detailed here: FDA Accepts Ultragenyx's Resubmitted BLA for MPS IIIA Gene Therapy UX111 Elecsys NfL Test Receives European Approval for Monitoring Neuroinflammation in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis FDA Clears Cala kIQ Plus for Essential Tremor and Parkinson Disease Hand Tremor Thanks for listening to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments® podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more neurology news and expert-driven content, visit neurologylive.com.