Tremor, ataxia and dementia in older men may indicate a carrier of the fragile X syndrome

Recently it has been reported that late‐onset tremor, gait unsteadiness and dementia can be associated with brain atrophy in males of normal intelligence and the pre‐mutation carrier state of the fragile X syndrome. We have shown, by means of a telephone survey, that this association is probably causal rather than coincidental. These findings have uncovered another testable cause of late‐onset neurological symptoms in males, which also has serious genetic implications for their daughters who are at risk of having sons with full mutations causing mental handicap – the fragile X syndrome.