Inherited Essential Tremor
Essential Tremor
Other names for Essential Tremor
The inherited variety of essential tremor is an autosomal dominant disorder. An altered gene from just one parent is needed to pass on the condition. If you have a parent with an altered gene for essential tremor, you have a 50% chance of developing the disorder yourself.
Genetics--About 50 percent of the cases of essential tremor are thought to be caused by a genetic risk factor (referred to as familial tremor). Children of a parent who has familial tremor have greater risk of inheriting the condition. Familial forms of essential tremor often appear early in life.
Essential Tremor is caused by overactive cells in the area of the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus is about the size of a walnut and within the brain there are two of them. If there are overactive cells in the right thalamus, the person will have signs of tremor on the left side and vice versa. Some patients suffer from tremor on both sides.
Despite its prevalence, it wasn't until 2013 that essential tremor was given its own specific diagnostic code, one that's distinct from other tremors, in the 10th edition of the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems (ICD) code book. In medicine, the word "essential" means there's no known underlying cause for a symptom, which is the case for essential tremor.
Essential tremors (ET) is when you have uncontrolled shaking movements in parts of your body - most commonly the arms and hands. It tends to occur in families. It is mild in some people but can become severe, debilitating, and demoralizing. First and foremost, Essential Tremor can begin at any age from ages 1 to 100. ET doesn’t discriminate with age, race, sex, or national origin.
Other names for Essential Tremor
- Familial tremor
- Benign essential tremor
- Hereditary essential tremor
The inherited variety of essential tremor is an autosomal dominant disorder. An altered gene from just one parent is needed to pass on the condition. If you have a parent with an altered gene for essential tremor, you have a 50% chance of developing the disorder yourself.
Genetics--About 50 percent of the cases of essential tremor are thought to be caused by a genetic risk factor (referred to as familial tremor). Children of a parent who has familial tremor have greater risk of inheriting the condition. Familial forms of essential tremor often appear early in life.
Essential Tremor is caused by overactive cells in the area of the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus is about the size of a walnut and within the brain there are two of them. If there are overactive cells in the right thalamus, the person will have signs of tremor on the left side and vice versa. Some patients suffer from tremor on both sides.
Despite its prevalence, it wasn't until 2013 that essential tremor was given its own specific diagnostic code, one that's distinct from other tremors, in the 10th edition of the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems (ICD) code book. In medicine, the word "essential" means there's no known underlying cause for a symptom, which is the case for essential tremor.
Essential tremors (ET) is when you have uncontrolled shaking movements in parts of your body - most commonly the arms and hands. It tends to occur in families. It is mild in some people but can become severe, debilitating, and demoralizing. First and foremost, Essential Tremor can begin at any age from ages 1 to 100. ET doesn’t discriminate with age, race, sex, or national origin.
