Essential tremor

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Central nervous system

Essential tremor

Alternative Names:

Tremor - essential
Symptoms:

The tremors:

May be occasional (sporadic), temporary (episodic) or occurring at intervals (intermittent)
Occur at a rate of about 6 to 10 oscillations per second
May affect the head, hands, arms, eyelids, voice
Less commonly affect the legs and feet
May not affect both sides of the body equally
Worsen with voluntary movement or emotional stress
Disappear during sleep
Typically improve with alcohol

Signs and tests:

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There is no diagnostic laboratory test for essential tremor. The diagnosis is based on the patient's history, a physical examination revealing tremor on voluntary movement, and no other abnormalities.

However, some testing may rule out other causes of tremors, such as excessive caffeine or tobacco use, alcohol withdrawal, use of certain medications (some asthma drugs, some antidepressants, lithium, some anti-seizure drugs), hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, Wilson's disease (a rare condition in which copper accumulates in the brain and liver), and other disorders.

Routine laboratory tests and brain imaging studies (such as CT scan of the head, brain MRI, and X-rays), or other tests are usually normal and not routinely performed.