Clinical features, assessment and treatment of essential tremor

Essential tremor is the most common of the movement disorders, being 20 times more common than Parkinson's Disease. It is characterised by postural and kinetic tremor which maximally affects the hands. It can be assessed by physiological techniques, subjective clinical methods, objective clinical methods and handicap/disability scales. Accelerometry, spirography and handwriting assessment, volumetry and handicap/disability questionnaires are commonly used methods. Primidone and propranolol are the first-line drugs. Several second-line drugs have been identified. Surgical techniques include lesioning or stimulation of the ventral lateral thalamus. Alcohol and botulinum toxin A are found to reduce tremor amplitude as well.