Essential Tremor

Common

Essential Tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders, affecting as many as 4% of individuals older than 65 years. ET may occur sporadically or be inherited. Community-based surveys indicate that the majority of individuals with ET have exceedingly mild tremor and only a small proportion seek medical treatment.

Not Benign

Essential Tremor (ET) is a movement disorder caused by a problem in the brain, whereby the sufferer cannot stop their hands or body from shaking. Essential Tremor is not a life-threatening disorder but sometimes causes functional disability, social embarrassment and interferes with activities of daily living. There is no cure, only therapies to help decrease the severity of the tremor.

Difficult to Diagnose

Symptoms of ET are often similar to those of many other movement disorders, especially Parkinson's Disease (PD). There is currently no objective test to diagnose ET or PD. Consequently, misdiagnosis rates are high, with the literature reporting up to 50% misdiagnosis. A wrong diagnosis can mean taking unnecessary or potentially harmful medications. Alseres is committed to developing diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for movement disorders. Alseres' ALTROPANE molecular imaging agent is being developed to aid in the diagnosis of Parkinsonian Syndrome tremor from non-Parkinsonian or Essential Tremor.

For a list of websites providing information on Essential Tremor, visiting our Patient Resources section.