Essential Tremor

Dr. Kamath has specialty training in treating movement disorders such as Essential Tremor (ET) with deep brain stimulation (DBS).

ET is the most common disorder of movement, affecting an estimated 1 percent of adults worldwide, and 5 percent of adults over the age of 60. (footnote https://www.uptodate.com/contents/essential-tremor-clinical-features-and-diagnosis)
ET is often progressive, starting with the hands; but can also spread to include the neck, trunk, head, voice, and rarely, the legs.

ET can be disabling. In severe cases, everyday activities such as eating with a spoon, drinking from a cup, and writing can become nearly impossible. Advanced ET also causes significant social anxiety since the tremor is often obvious to others.

The first-line of therapy for ET is medications, with agents such as propranolol or primidone. If a patient continues to have debilitating symptoms of ET despite best medical management, it may be time to consider a procedural option.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is effective for treating ET in properly selected patients, and is the only treatment that modulates (rather than destroys) a part of the brain to treat tremors. Other procedural options include thalamotomy, radiosurgery, and focused ultrasound therapy.