Essential Tremor

Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work

Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.

Neuroscience created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Parkinson's brain rhythms suggest better way to treat disease with deep brain stimulation

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Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Mar 04, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Focused ultrasound for treating Parkinson's disease to be tested

(Medical Xpress)—After a promising clinical trial of focused ultrasound as a potential treatment for essential tremor, the University of Virginia Health System is launching a new study to investigate the ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Oct 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study examines association between Parkinson disease, cancer

A study that used a Utah genealogic database and a statewide cancer registry to examine the relationship between Parkinson disease (PD) and cancer suggests an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma in patients with ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Sep 03, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find genetic cause for body tremors

Researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine and CHUM hospitals have linked some cases of Essential Tremor (ET) to a specific genetic problem. ET is the most common movement disorder, becoming ...

Genetics created Aug 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Binge eating improves with deep brain stimulation surgery

Deep brain stimulation reduces binge eating in mice, suggesting that this surgery, which is approved for treatment of certain neurologic and psychiatric disorders, may also be an effective therapy for obesity. Presentation ...

Surgery created Jun 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Essential tremor patient regains independence following surgery

For nearly 30 years, Tom Rogers' left hand would shake when he tried to use it, making even simple tasks such as drinking a glass of water, writing a check, or making a sandwich challenging. The tremor eventually became so ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists discover likely cause of most common involuntary movement disorder

Researchers from the CHUQ research center and Universite Laval have discovered the likely cause of essential tremor (ET), a neurological disorder that affects more than 10 million North Americans. The team's promising findings ...

Neuroscience created Dec 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study unlocks mystery of dystonia with advanced imaging

An estimated 300,000 people in North America are afflicted with dystonia, a disorder characterized by a progressive loss of motor control. Patients with generalized dystonia grapple with involuntary muscle spasms that lead ...

Neuroscience created Nov 14, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brain stimulator shown to reduce 'untreatable' epileptic seizures

Brain stimulation, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, has now been shown to offer significant relief to patients with intractable seizures ...

Neuroscience created Nov 08, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

AAN releases updated guideline for treating essential tremor

The American Academy of Neurology is releasing an updated guideline on how to best treat essential tremor, which is the most common type of tremor disorder and is often confused with other movement disorders such as Parkinson's ...

Neuroscience created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

DBS operation for Parkinson's disease performed inside iMRI

Henry Ford Hospital became the third hospital in the United States to perform a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure inside an Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, or iMRI.

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New imaging test gives physicians better tool to diagnose Parkinson's disease

Thanks to a new diagnostic imaging technique, physicians now have an objective test to evaluate patients for parkinsonian syndromes, such as Parkinson's disease. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is among the first institutions ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created Aug 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Referring doctors increasingly aware of deep brain stimulation therapy; more work remains

While deep brain stimulation has gained recognition by referring physicians as a treatment for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, just half of the patients they recommend are appropriate candidates to begin ...

Neuroscience created Aug 16, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cedars-Sinai movement disorders expert on international task force for dystonia treatment

Neurologist Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, served on an elite international task force commissioned by the Movement Disorder Society to provide insights and ...

Neuroscience created Jul 21, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Essential tremor (ET) is a slowly progressive neurological disorder of which the most recognizable feature is a tremor of the arms or hands that is apparent during voluntary movements such as eating and writing. This type of tremor is often referred to as "kinetic tremor." The tremor may also occur in the head (neck), jaw and voice as well as other body regions, with the general pattern being that the tremor begins in the arms and then spreads to these other regions in selected patients. Women are more likely to develop the head tremor than are men. Other types of tremor may also occur, including postural tremor of the outstretched arms, intentional tremor of the arms and rest tremor in the arms. Some patients may have unsteadiness and problems with gait and balance that are above and beyond that due to normal aging. In addition to these motor problems, a variety of non-motor features have recently been linked with ET. These include anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as cognitive difficulty. Recent studies have demonstrated that late-onset ET (onset > age 65) may be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia. ET is one of the most common neurological diseases, with a prevalence of approximately 4% in persons age 40 and older and considerably higher among persons in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Aside from enhanced physiological tremor, it is the most common type of tremor and one of the most commonly observed movement disorders. Essential tremor was also previously known as "benign essential tremor", but the adjective "benign" has been removed in recognition of the sometimes disabling nature of the disorder. Although essential tremor is often mild, patients with severe tremor have difficulty performing many of their routine activities of daily living.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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