Essential tremor

Essential tremor (ET, also referred to as benign tremor, familial tremor, or idiopathic tremor) is a progressive neurological disorder that is also the most common movement disorder. The cause of the condition is currently unknown. It typically involves a tremor of the arms, hands or fingers but sometimes involves the head, vocal cords or other body parts during voluntary movements such as eating and writing. It is distinct from Parkinson's disease—and often misdiagnosed as such—although some individuals have both conditions. Essential tremor is commonly described as an action tremor (i.e., it intensifies when one tries to use the affected muscles) or postural tremor (i.e., present with sustained muscle tone) rather than a resting tremor, such as is seen in Parkinson’s, which is usually not included among its symptoms. Essential tremor (ET, also referred to as benign tremor, familial tremor, or idiopathic tremor) is a progressive neurological disorder that is also the most common movement disorder. The cause of the condition is currently unknown. It typically involves a tremor of the arms, hands or fingers but sometimes involves the head, vocal cords or other body parts during voluntary movements such as eating and writing. It is distinct from Parkinson's disease—and often misdiagnosed as such—although some individuals have both conditions. Essential tremor is commonly described as an action tremor (i.e., it intensifies when one tries to use the affected muscles) or postural tremor (i.e., present with sustained muscle tone) rather than a resting tremor, such as is seen in Parkinson’s, which is usually not included among its symptoms. In mild cases, ET can manifest as the inability to stop the tongue or hands from shaking, the ability to sing only in vibrato, and difficulty doing small precise tasks such as threading a needle. Even simple tasks like cutting in a straight line or using a ruler can range from difficult to impossible, depending on the severity of the condition. In disabling cases, ET can interfere with a person's activities of daily living, including feeding, dressing, and taking care of personal hygiene. Essential tremor generally presents as a rhythmic tremor (4–12 Hz) that occurs only when the affected muscle is exerting effort. Any sort of physical or mental stress will tend to make the tremor worse. 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 some people. 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, intention tremor of the arms and rest tremor in the arms. Some people may have unsteadiness and problems with gait and balance. ET-related tremors do not occur during sleep, but people with ET sometimes complain of an especially coarse tremor upon awakening that becomes noticeably less coarse within the first few minutes of wakefulness. Tremor and disease activity/intensity can worsen in response to fatigue, strong emotions, low blood sugar, cold and heat, caffeine, lithium salts, some antidepressants, and other factors. It is typical for the tremor to worsen in 'performance' situations, such as when writing a check for payment at a store or giving a presentation. Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism can also occur simultaneously with ET. A study found that the degree of tremor, rigidity, and functional disability did not differ from patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Hand tremor predominated (as it did in Parkinson’s disease), and occurred in nearly all cases, followed by head tremor, voice tremor, neck, face, leg, tongue and trunk tremor. Most other tremors occurred in association with hand tremor. Another study found more severe tremors, a lower sleep disorder frequency, and a similar prevalence of other non-motor symptoms. Walking difficulties in essential tremor are common. About half of patients have associated dystonia, including cervical dystonia, writer's cramp, spasmodic dysphonia, and cranial dystonia, and 20% of the patients had associated parkinsonism. Olfactory dysfunction (loss of sense of smell) is common in Parkinson’s disease, and has also been reported to occur in patients with essential tremor. A number of patients with essential tremor also exhibit many of the same neuropsychiatric disturbances seen in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Essential tremor with tremor onset after the age of 65 has been associated with mild cognitive impairment as well as dementia; although the link between these conditions, if any, is still not understood. Essential Tremor has two tremor components, a central tremor and a peripheral tremor. These two tremor components were identified by measuring the tremor of ET patients once with no weights on their hands and then with 1 lb. weights on their hands. The researchers found that the addition of the weights resulted in a tremor spectra with two peaks, one that maintained the same frequency (the central tremor) and one that decreased in frequency (the peripheral tremor). Only with the addition of the 1 lb. weights was the peripheral tremor distinguishable from the central tremor. The underlying cause of essential tremor is not clear but many cases seem to be familial. Approximately one-half of the cases are due to a genetic mutation and the pattern of inheritance is most consistent with autosomal dominant transmission. No genes have been identified yet but genetic linkage has been established with several chromosomal regions.