Abstract
Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder. Individuals exhibit postural and kinetic tremor that worsens over time and patients may also exhibit other motor and non-motor symptoms. While millions of people are affected by this disorder worldwide, several barriers impede an optimal clinical management of symptoms. In this paper, we discuss the impact of ET on patients and review major issues to the optimal management of ET; from the side-effects and limited efficacy of current medical treatments to the limited number of people who seek treatment for their tremor. Then, we propose seven different areas within which mobile and wearable technology may improve the clinical management of ET and review the current state of research in these areas.
Highlights
Essential tremor (ET) is a movement disorder where individuals exhibit bilateral, persistent postural, or kinetic upper-limb tremor [1,2,3,4] that can be observed during rest in some cases [4,5,6,7,8,9]
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Tremor has proposed that individuals exhibiting symptoms other than tremor should be labeled as having ET plus syndrome [14]
Higher levels of anxiety are observed among individuals with ET than in healthy individuals [28], and major depressive disorder was diagnosed in 5.4% of individuals with ET whereas it was only observed in 2.7% of healthy individuals [41]
Summary
Essential tremor (ET) is a movement disorder where individuals exhibit bilateral, persistent postural, or kinetic upper-limb tremor [1,2,3,4] that can be observed during rest in some cases [4,5,6,7,8,9]. The International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Tremor has proposed that individuals exhibiting symptoms other than tremor should be labeled as having ET plus syndrome [14]. These accompanying neurological signs may include mild to moderate gait ataxia [3, 15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23], cognitive impairment [24, 25] as well as personality profile [26,27,28], and mood disturbances [29,30,31]. Due to the aging population and extended life expectancy, ET is becoming a larger cause of functional disability
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