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Updated: Jun 22, 2026
05:54
MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Patients with Medically-refractory Essential Tremor
Published on: December 13, 2017
Tremor: clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment
1Department of Neurology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62794-9643, USA. relble@siumed.edu
Neurologic Clinics
|June 27, 2009
Summary
Pharmacotherapy for tremor disorders remains inadequate, but deep brain stimulation offers effective treatment for common, disabling tremors. Ongoing research into pathologic tremors may improve future drug therapies.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The complete understanding of tremor pathophysiology is still lacking.
- Current pharmacotherapy for various tremor disorders is insufficient.
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a viable treatment option.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of tremor disorders.
- To highlight the efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for disabling tremors.
- To discuss the future prospects of pharmacotherapy for tremors.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent advancements in tremor research.
- Analysis of the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in clinical practice.
- Synthesis of current knowledge on the neurobiology of tremor.
Main Results:
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is effective for prevalent and debilitating tremor types.
- Significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of pathologic tremors.
- Pharmacological treatments continue to be inadequate for many tremor patients.
Conclusions:
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) provides a valuable therapeutic option for specific tremor disorders.
- Accelerated research in the past three decades has enhanced our understanding of tremor.
- Future advancements in understanding tremor pathophysiology may lead to improved pharmacotherapies.
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