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Review on clinical update of essential tremor

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Abstract

Essential tremor (ET) is considered a benign disease without any pathological changes. Nevertheless, this point of view has recently been challenged. In recent years, studies have shown that ET occurs with other non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive deficits, depression, anxiety, balance disorder, hearing impairment, olfactory dysfunction and sleep problems. Advancements in neuroimaging have revealed widespread alterations in the brain, and cerebellar involvement was the most consistent finding. In addition, studies have also shown that ET patients might experience poor quality of life, reflecting motor or non-motor symptoms. Both pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacotherapy have recently been suggested for the treatment of ET. This review briefly describes the current information on ET, including the non-movement symptoms, neuroimaging findings, the impact on daily life and ET therapy.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the medical research project of Chongqing Health and Family Planning Commission 2013-1-012. This work was financially supported through the National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Foundation of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Street, Yuanjiagang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China

    Wei Chunling & Xiao Zheng

  2. The Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Wei Chunling

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  1. Wei Chunling
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  2. Xiao Zheng
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Correspondence to Xiao Zheng.

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Chunling, W., Zheng, X. Review on clinical update of essential tremor. Neurol Sci 37, 495–502 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2380-1

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