Essential Tremor
What is Essential Tremor?
Essential Tremor is a chronic neurological condition that presents as involuntary trembling in a part of the body. It occurs most often in the hands and arms, but may also affect the head, voice and legs. The tremor is often associated with purposeful movement, such as writing, buttoning clothes or holding a glass, or when the patient is maintaining a fixed position against gravity, such as when the arms are stretched out straight. The tremor is usually absent or minimal with rest and disappears during sleep.Symptoms of Essential Tremor
The symptoms of essential tremor may be socially embarrassing and may cause difficulty in performing fine motor tasks such as handwriting, eating, drinking and buttoning clothes.Essential Tremor may develop anytime from childhood to late adulthood, but the usual age of onset is 45 or after. It may occur randomly or be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. In inherited cases, children of affected individuals have a 50 percent risk of inheriting a gene for essential tremor and eventually developing the disease.
Evaluation
Evaluation of Essential Tremor includes a thorough history and physical. Different assessments are performed including the anatomic distribution of the tremor, the amplitude and frequency of the tremor, muscle contraction period, degree of functional disability and other medical conditions and medications taken. Patients at the Stanford Comprehensive Movement Disorders Center will have a videotaped examination as well as a tremor rating scale and tremorography " where the amplitude and frequency of the tremor are measured.Medical Treatments
Medical treatment includes the use of different medications such as:-
Beta Blockers (Inderal)
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Anticonvulsants (such as Mysoline, Neurontin or Topamax)
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Benzodiazepines (such as Klonopin or Valium).
Some patients may benefit from local injections of botulinum toxin (BTX) type A (Botox), which may help suppress the tremor.