Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor. What's the difference?
- Stephanie Soto
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Tremors are a common first Parkinson's disease motor symptom that prompts people to see a neurologist. However, not all tremors are the same. Let's review the differences between tremors related to PD and essential tremors.
Essential tremor is actually more common than PD. Almost 10 million people in the United States have an essential tremor. Essential tremors are also known as an action tremor, meaning it happens with voluntary movement. So when you try to move to write a check or eat, your tremor kicks in. When you stop moving, the tremor goes away. In Parkinson's disease, folks usually have a resting tremor. Resting tremor means you get your tremor when you are not voluntarily moving (or resting) but the tremors go away as you move. Of course, as PD progresses the tremors can progress in intensity and this gets a little less clear cut. But this is very distinguishable in the earlier stages of PD when people are searching for a diagnosis. With essential tremors, the shaking can occur in your hands, arms, head, jaw, and even your voice. Like PD, your tremors can worsen with lack of sleep or spikes in stress.
With PD, men who are older than 60 years old are more are risk. There is a strong genetic component to PD and there is a link to certain environmental factors (pesticides). With essential tremor, those over 40 years old and with a family history are more at risk. So the age of onset may help differentiate the two.
Interestingly, PD and essential tremor share similar treatments. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can be used with both conditions, with 80-90% of people with essential tremors reporting no tremors following DBS surgery. Lifestyle changes are important for both conditions. In essential tremor, reducing caffeine and stress and improving sleep are key factors.
If you are experiencing tremors, talk with your doctor about seeing a movement disorder specialist to help with diagnosing.
Check out this video to see examples of essential tremor and tremors related to PD:
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