Author: Charles Frank

Essential Tremor: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

In order to reflect a “real-world” experience in a movement disorders clinic we did not exclude patients who had other diagnoses besides ET. The first 300 patients who met these criteria were included for this data analysis. Demographic, clinical, historical, treatment, and diagnostic data were retrospectively collected on 300 patients diagnosed by movement disorder experts with essential tremor.

1. You should also see your healthcare provider if you notice your symptoms are getting worse, to the point where they’re disrupting your activities and routine.
2. Essential tremor is usually not a dangerous condition, but it typically worsens over time and can be severe in some people.
3. Essential tremor is most common among people older than 65, but it can affect people at any age.
4. On the other hand, retrospective data provides a more longitudinal and “real-world” perspective than prospective studies.

What is the difference between essential tremor vs. Parkinson’s disease?

If your parent has ET, there is a 50% chance you or your children will inherit the gene responsible for the condition. Sometimes, ancillary testing such as brain imaging or genetic testing may help with the diagnosis. For many people, essential tremor can have serious social and psychological consequences. If the effects of essential tremor make it difficult to live your life as fully as you once did, consider joining a support group.

Furthermore, the additional, non-tremor features suggest the possibility of etiopathogenic subtypes. This study was a retrospective chart review of patients seen at the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Baylor College of Medicine. As data was gathered by retrospective chart review, a waiver of informed consent was approved by the same Institutional Review Board. A database of patients who were evaluated in our clinic between May 1, 2016 and May 1, 2020 and carried an ICD10 diagnosis of ET (G25.0) was generated. These patients were randomized through Microsoft® Excel® by assigning each patient a random number with the rand function and sorting the patients sequentially by these random number assignments.

Is Alcohol Used to Treat Essential Tremor?

Our study has several limitations, most important of which is its retrospective nature. Retrospective data may often be difficult to fit into more current definitions. Some age at onset numbers required estimation from phrases used in chart documentation. Data on clinical features is only available when documented; lack of documentation may not necessarily mean that they were not present. On the other hand, retrospective data provides a more longitudinal and “real-world” perspective than prospective studies.

Essential tremor usually affects your hands and arms but can also affect your head, voice and other body parts. If you drinkalcoholand have been diagnosed with essential tremor (ET), which is also called kinetic tremor, you may wonder how alcohol impacts your condition. In addition, if you are taking medications to treat ET, you may be curious if they can be used with alcohol.

How can I reduce my risk of developing essential tremor or prevent it altogether?

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DaTscans were performed in 71 patients (23.7%), and 27 of these 71 DaTscans (38.0%) were positive. Among patients with positive DaTscans, the mean latency between onset of tremor and onset of parkinsonian features was 19.2 years, further supporting the co-existence of two disorders, ET and PD. Additional motor and non-motor features, including parkinsonism, are common in patients with essential tremor. Further studies are needed to clarify essential tremor phenotypes and to provide insights into possible subtypes.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Data regarding non-motor features as noted in clinical documentation were collected, including mood, cognitive, and REM Behavior Disorder (RBD), as well as objective cognitive deficits and features of neuropathy on physical examination. Cognitive impairment was defined as a score of 25 or less on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia by formal neuropsychological testing. Patients were characterized as “ET plus” if they had cognitive impairment determined by a MoCA examination or neuropsychological testing, tandem gait abnormalities, ataxia, dystonia, rest tremor, or other parkinsonian features. The consensus statement classifies patients with “questionable dystonia” as ET plus, while classifying patients with dystonia as a different combined tremor syndrome 1. If patients with ET also fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for Parkinson’s disease (PD), as defined by the UK Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank’s Clinical Criteria 17, they were categorized as ET-PD. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.

Other adrenergic blockers with fewer side effects include atenolol, nadolol, metoprolol and timolol. Alcohol use may help improve the symptoms of essential tremor (ET), but using alcohol to soothe symptoms of ET is not advisable. And while experts don’t know exactly why essential tremor happens, they do know that this condition can run in families.

Of the 300 patients, 20.7% were classified as isolated essential tremor, 53.3% as essential tremor plus, and 26.0% as essential tremor-Parkinson’s disease. Essential tremor plus patients were more likely to have dystonia, tandem gait abnormalities, head tremor and greater tremor severity. Essential tremor-Parkinson’s disease patients were more likely to have RBD symptoms.

Using alcohol to improve or ease the symptoms of essential tremor is not recommended.

A person with an autosomal dominant condition — in this example, the father — has a 50% chance of having an affected child with one changed gene and a 50% chance of having an unaffected child. It isn’t clear what causes essential tremor in people who don’t have familial tremor. Gabapentin and topiramate are two other anti-seizure medicines that are sometimes prescribed for essential tremor. In some cases, benzodiazepines such as alprazolam or clonazepam might be suggested.