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What is essential tremor?
Essential tremor is probably the most common of movement disorders affecting about 5-10% of the population.
What are its symptoms?
It is characterized by tremors. But unlike Parkinson's disease
- Essential tremor is associated with postural and action tremors, which interfere with such activities as writing, eating and performing fine motor movements.
- With Parkinson's disease, tremors occur while sitting at rest.
Essential tremor can occur at any age. It is sometimes very mild and not troublesome but it can be progressive and result in severe disability.
What causes essential tremor?
The cause of essential tremor is unknown. We do know that it is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner in many cases, meaning that each child of a person with this disease has a 25% chance of inheriting it. Two genes have recently been associated with essential tremor and further research may delineate a cause.
How is it treated?
Currently there are some medications that may be helpful in diminishing the tremor. These include:
Medical Treatments
- Propranolol
- Primidone
- Gabapentin
- Topiramate
- Benzodiazepines
Unfortunately, there is no medicinal treatment that is capable of completely stopping tremor.
Surgical Treatments
In the last 10 years, developments in surgical therapy have helped some to slow the progression of essential tremor. For those who are severely disabled by tremor and do not respond to medicinal treatments, a surgical procedure known as deep brain stimulation may ease symptoms. During deep brain stimulation, a part of the brain is exposed to electrical pulses to help abolish or partially abolish tremor, Patients who undergo deep brain stimulation have continued to experience symptom improvement for years after the procedure for years.
Make an Appointment
With the Emory Movement Disorders Center
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