Essential tremor

Essential Tremor: Disease Causes and Treatments

Essential tremor – nervous system defect provoking unconscious trembling in a certain rhythm. The disease affects any part of the body, but most often occurs on the hands – especially when performing ordinary activities: eating or cleaning, etc.

Pathology is not dangerous at the initial stage, but over time the condition worsens and passes into a severe stage.

Essential tremor causes

Exact Essential tremor roots haven’t been determined. According to therapeutic theory, pathology arises and develops in case of partial cerebellar dysfunction and other cerebrum areas. Cerebellum is responsible for muscle coordination adjustment.

Mostly, illness is inherited. In medicine, there are certain risk points for pathology onset.

1. Genome modifications. Hereditary illness is autosomal dominant disease. Probability of pathology passing along hereditary lines is 50%.
2. Age – disease frequently occurs after 40.

Essential tremor symptoms

1. Involuntary twitching occurs in any body area.
2. Tremor manifests itself in moving, and is less noticeable in rest mode.
3. Some meds, caffeine, or stressful situations provoke tremor increase.
4. Twitching is aggravated after taking alcoholic drinks.
5. Symptomatology becomes stronger in its manifestation over years.
6. Tremor appears in different proportions throughout the organism, unevenly.

Tremor essential pathology manifests itself as follows.

1. Trembling most noticeable in hands.
2. Challenges in doing work with hands – it’s inconvenient to write or do household chores.
3. Trembling voice.
4. Involuntary head nodding.
5. Sometimes there’s trembling in a person’s legs.

Essential tremor diagnosis  

After conducting a comprehensive diagnosis in case of similar symptomatology, physicians confirm essential tremors pathology presence. To begin with, it’s necessary to exclude other illnesses against tremor background, f. eg., trembling appears with hyperthyroidism. For clarifying the problem, specialists give the following recommendations.

1. Alcohol intake cessation.
2. Minimizing caffeine intake.
3. Some meds refuse.

Essential tremor treatment

Propranolol and primidone – are two meds predominantly aimed at essential tremors treatment.

1. Propranolol helps to block neurotransmitters stimulating effect, removing tremors. Nevertheless, the drug reduces sports load loyalty, lowers blood pressure, increases depression (if any), and provokes potency problems. 
2. Primidone keeps neurotransmitters’ work under control. According to testing, 60%-100% of people taking the remedy respond normally without feeling any unpleasant side effects.
3. Operational intervention. If a strong tremor occurs, specialists use a stimulation device inserted into the cerebrum – deep brain stimulation.
4. Life mode changes. People suffering from tremors should give up diuretics – first of all, this applies to caffeine.

Certain factors increase trembling, so the following is strongly recommended to patients:

• alcohol and caffeine refusal;
• stressful environment elimination;
• yoga, breathing exercises, or other relaxation techniques.