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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Essential Tremors
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
Essential Tremors
by jordon, Aug 25, 2001 12:00AM
I was diagnosed with Essential Tremors in January of this year and have read a fair bit on the disorder.I'm a 31 year old,have no history of any type of tremors in my family. Since my diagnosis the tremors have worsened alot. I can't use the majority of the medications due to asthma and have found alcohol of no help. I am nervous about the newer surgery that my doctor has suggested for when it gets worse and would like to know what the risks are. Also would like to know if Alzheimer is linked to this type of tremors? My Grandfather had it.Also wondering if there has been any study on the use of marijuana for this disorder? How will I know when to consider the surgery?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT, Aug 27, 2001 12:00AM
Here's the latest from the medical literature:
1. There are studies on marijuana and PARKINSON's tremor, but none that I saw for essential tremor.
2. Although parkinson's tremor and dementia do overlap with alzheimer's disease, I haven't seen anything that shows essential tremor is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's.
Have you tried Mysoline (primidone)? It's an antiseizure drug that's been very helpful for essential tremor, but it makes some people sleepy.
As far as the surgeries go, there's thalamotomy where they make a cut in a part of your brain called the thalamus, a major relay station for many neurological functions. In some patients there is a marked reduction of tremor, but there are a lot of side effects as you can imagine.
The other surgery is deep brain stimulation, which is done here at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Rezai, an outstanding neurosurgeon. A tiny electrode is placed in your thalamus to stimulate it which can be controlled with a small manual device that is external. In one study, 80% of patients with essential tremor reported marked to moderate improvement in their daily activities. But with all things, there are side effects such as infections. You need to talk to your physician and neurologist about when is the proper time to consider this, and think about how the tremor is affecting your daily life. Can you write, eat, drink, play sports as well as you'd like? Think about it carefully. Best wishes.
1. There are studies on marijuana and PARKINSON's tremor, but none that I saw for essential tremor.
2. Although parkinson's tremor and dementia do overlap with alzheimer's disease, I haven't seen anything that shows essential tremor is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's.
Have you tried Mysoline (primidone)? It's an antiseizure drug that's been very helpful for essential tremor, but it makes some people sleepy.
As far as the surgeries go, there's thalamotomy where they make a cut in a part of your brain called the thalamus, a major relay station for many neurological functions. In some patients there is a marked reduction of tremor, but there are a lot of side effects as you can imagine.
The other surgery is deep brain stimulation, which is done here at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Rezai, an outstanding neurosurgeon. A tiny electrode is placed in your thalamus to stimulate it which can be controlled with a small manual device that is external. In one study, 80% of patients with essential tremor reported marked to moderate improvement in their daily activities. But with all things, there are side effects such as infections. You need to talk to your physician and neurologist about when is the proper time to consider this, and think about how the tremor is affecting your daily life. Can you write, eat, drink, play sports as well as you'd like? Think about it carefully. Best wishes.
