Scientists say they’ve figured out what causes essential tremor, a common neurological disorder characterized by involuntary, rhythmic trembling that typically occurs in the hands.
In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine this week, researchers at National Taiwan University and Columbia University Irving Medical Center discovered that people with essential tremor have abnormal connections among the neurons in their cerebellum, a region in the back of the brain that’s involved in the coordination of voluntary movement. Researchers say people with these abnormalities tend to generate overactive brain waves, or too much electrical activity, in this region of the brain, which is what fuels the tremors.
In addition to pinpointing the roots of the disorder, the researchers say their work uncovered some new approaches that could potentially treat and diagnose essential tremor more effectively.
Essential tremor is often mistaken for Parkinson’s disease, but there are some key distinctions that set these ...
