Benign Essential Tremor

Benign Essential Tremor is a neurological disorder regarded as tremor of hands or arms in which rhythmic, involuntary shaking occurs in the areas affected by this disorder.

What is Benign Essential Tremor?

Benign Essential Tremor is the world’s most common movement disorder, affecting an estimated 7 million people in the U.S. alone. The hallmark of this disease is an involuntary, rhythmic shaking during intentional movement, complicating everyday tasks like writing, eating and drinking.Benign Essential Tremor has previously been thought to be a benign condition where cases demonstrate a tremor at rest most notable in the hands and upper extremities.  The research team identified 256 cases of essential tremor in a study of over 5000 individuals age 65 and older.

Benign Essential Tremor an impact individuals both physically and psychologically. It can occur in people of any age, gender, or race and affects every day activities such as eating, drinking and writing. While the severity may vary from person to person, it often makes those affected self-conscious or anxious in social situations. While no cure has been found to date, medications and surgical treatments can help control tremor in many patients.

Although Benign Essential Tremor is usually not a sign of a severe or life-threatening medical disorder, it can be both embarrassing and disabling to some people and make it harder to perform work and daily life tasks.

Key Facts of Benign Essential Tremor

A family history of tremors is the only known Key Facts of Benign Essential Tremor. The condition may happen at any age. It is more possible to happen in teens and people older than 50 years old.

• Benign Essential Tremor is an obsolete term today.

• It is known as only Essential Tremor or ET in modern terminology.

• It causes involuntary shaking of hands, arms or of any further area that it affects.

• Unsteady walking style and an inability to synchronize controlled movements also recognized ataxia are Symptoms of Benign Essential Tremor.

• It also causes cognitive damage and huge changes in personality in a lot of individuals which falls in the category of non-motor symptoms.

• It can be caused due to hereditary or non-hereditary reasons.

• Genetic and environmental factors play a key role in the start of this disorder.

• Over a period of time it keeps worsening in some cases and becomes very severe and unbearable in a lot of people.

• It is quite common in people aged 40 and above.

• Sometimes the shaking or the trembling of limbs is to an extent that it becomes impossible to perform day to day activities such as hold a glass of water, shave, tie shoe laces and many more routine activities.
  

Symptoms of Benign Essential Tremor

There are some key Symptoms of Benign Essential Tremor that when present are assign of the start of this disorder. This tremor is known as action tremors. More people may suffering tremors when they are not doing anything. These are called tremors at rest.

The most common Symptoms of Benign Essential Tremor that might point out that anindividual suffers from essential or benign tremor are:

• Anxiety

• Trembling sensation

• Nodding head

• Shaking voice

• Tiredness

• Uncontrollable movement at rest

• Worsen emotional stress

• Trouble in motor skills

• Hearing loss

• Worsening with age

• A small, fast tremor

• Uncontrollable movement at action

• Uncontrollable shaking of brief periods of time

• Head nodding, if the head is affected

• Tremor that stops when the person is asleep
  

In some cases, the Benign Essential Tremor may be worsened by:

• Emotional stress

• Fatigue (tiredness)

• Caffeine

• Extremes of temperature (if it's too hot or too cold)
  

A tremor can also be one of the withdrawal symptoms for people who are dependent on alcohol and have stopped or lessen their alcohol intake.Often,Essential tremor is the only symptom you have when you have essential tremor. Further conditions that cause tremors come with other Symptoms of Benign Essential Tremor.

Causes of Benign Essential Tremor

Benign Essential Tremor is the result of abnormal communication between certain areas of the brain, including the cerebellum, thalamus, and brain stem. The whole Causes of Benign Essential Tremor are unknown, but there is indication that for some people the disorder is genetic. However, people with no family history of tremor can also grow essential tremor.

Speaking of hereditary causes, certain post mortem medicinal studies had shown that certain gene alterations are linked to the development of Essential Tremor.You may be more possible to have essential tremor if a parent or further close family member has tremor. Tremor can start at any age, but it frequently starts after age 40. It can get worse as you get older.

The core underlying Causes of Benign Essential Tremor are not transparent yet but some of the medical experts believe it is caused due to:

• Familial history.

• Genetic mutation.

• Some unidentified chemical changes in brain.

• Impairment of Purkinje synapses search for Purkinje Synapses
  

The exact underlying Causes of Benign Essential Tremor is not entirely understood, though recent research suggests that ET may be a neurodegenerative disorder. Controlled postmortem studies have demonstrated a selection of degenerative changes within the cerebellum affecting the Purkinje cell population, and some patients have other degenerative changes, including Lewy bodies.

Diagnosis of Benign Essential Tremor

The Diagnosis of Benign Essential Tremor is based on the appearance of the tremor, the period of symptoms and the response to treatment. There is no exact diagnostic test for essential tremor, though sometimes blood work is done to rule out other conditions that may worsen the tremor, like hyperthyroidism.

Diagnosis of Benign Essential Tremor is using a number of tests, including:

• Medical history

• Social embarrassment

• Rise fatigue

• Physical checkup

• Effects of Benign Essential Tremor on quality of life

• Uncontrollable shaking can lessen a person’s quality of life in many ways, including:

• Electromyography test to check the electrical motion of muscles

• Irritation and anxiety caused by the inability to control the affected body part

• Difficulties with everyday activities, for example writing, getting dressed or eating

• Tests to rule out further causes – for example x-rays, blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans.
  

Benign Essential Tremor is sometimes misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease. But whereas people with Parkinson's frequently have balance problems, slowness of movement, and freezing of gait, people with ET only rarely have difficulties in their legs.

Prognosis of Benign Essential Tremor

The Prognosis of Benign Essential Tremor is good, if the condition is diagnosed initial and treated promptly.

However, ET is a progressive movement disorder, and thus involuntary shaking can interfere with aperson’s ability to perform simple tasks. This may lead to severe anxiety and depression.
Tremor is not considered a life-threating condition. Although many cases of tremor are mild, tremor can be very disabling for further people. It can be hard for individuals with tremor to perform normal everyday activities for example working, bathing, dressing, and eating.

Unlike essential tremor, the symptoms of physiologic and drug-induced tremor do not generally worsen over time and can often be better or removed once the underlying causes are treated.

Complications of Benign Essential Tremor

Essential tremor is not life-threatening, however symptoms frequently worsen over time. If the tremors become serious you might find it difficult to. Complications of Benign Essential Tremor can lead to the following are:

• Inability to eat normally

• Abnormal walk

• Inability to accomplish simple and everyday tasks, for example holding something or tying shoes

• Effect on coordinated muscle movement (ataxia)

• Social anxiety, embarrassment, and depression

• Increased risk for Parkinson’s disease

• Spilling any cup of tea or coffee

• Speech impairment, owing to tremors in the voice box
  

The Complications of Benign Essential Tremor cases of tremor make essential and most common life activities very hard for the people with this neurological disorder.

Key Points of Benign Essential Tremor

Key Points of Benign Essential Tremor include are:

• It is also called familial tremor because it tends to happen in families.

• Benign Essential Tremor is a neurological disorder that causes your hands, voice, head, trunk, or legs to shake rhythmically.

• The cause is not identified, but it is frequently passed down from a parent to a child.

• Numerous people confuse tremors with Parkinson's disease, but the two conditions are fairly different.

• Avoiding things that might make tremors worse, for example stress, caffeine, and certain medications, may be helpful.

• ET is sometimes confused with further types of tremor, so getting the right Diagnosis of Benign Essential Tremor is important.

• It is also called familial tremor because it tends to occur in families.
  

Affected Populations

Essential Tremor is the most prevalent tremor disorder and is one of the most common neurological disorders among adults.An estimated 7 million Americans have ET. The incidence of Essential Tremor rises with age and more than 4% of the population over the age of 40 has ET. Though the disorder is most common in older adults, it can affect persons of any age including middle aged or young adults and children.

Prevention of Benign Essential Tremor

Doctors don’t know accurately What Causes of Benign Essential Tremor, so Prevention of Benign Essential Tremor don’t know. If your doctor determines you tremor is caused by medication or caffeine, you may be able to avoid essential tremor in the future by avoiding those ingredients.

There are no methods or rules available for the Prevention of Benign Essential Tremor.

If there exists a family history of the condition, getting educated on ET may help an individual identify the symptoms and seek medicinal help.

Recovery Period for Benign Essential Tremor

There is no Recovery Period for Benign Essential Tremor therefor once you get it; you cannot get rid of it. Fortunately, certain medicines are so powerful that they make you feel like you do not have benign essential tremor and never experience any tremors.

Lifestyle Changes

Caffeine and anxiety should be avoided, and good sleep is recommended. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy, which can better your muscle strength. Adaptive devices, including wide-grip pens and eating utensils, may aid you compensate for your tremor. Alcohol, used in moderation, can lessen tremor for short periods of time.