Effect of adrenaline, noradrenaline, atropine, and nicotine on some types of human tremor.

Barcroft, Peterson, and Schwab (1952) and more recently Constas (1962) have shown that an intravenous infusion of adrenaline aggravates the tremor of patients with Parkinsonism. This observation raises two interesting questions. First, what are the effects on tremor of other drugs which act upon the autonomic nervous system? An answer to this question might throw some further light upon the pharmacological mechanisms responsible for the tremor. Secondly, do other forms of tremor show a different response to drugs than does the tremor of Parkinsonism? An answer to this question might provide a more objective classification of the various forms of tremor than is at present provided by clinical observation alone. In the present study the effect of four substances upon five clinical types of tremor has been observed and the results are reported here.