Tremors are unintentional trembling or shaking movements in one or more parts of your body. Most tremors occur in the hands. You can also have arm, head, face, vocal cord, trunk and leg tremors. Tremors are most common in middle-aged and older people, but anyone can have them.
Tremors commonly occur in otherwise healthy people. Sometimes, however, nerve diseases such as Parkinson's disease or dystonia, an overactive thyroid, or certain medicines can cause them. Heavy drinking, because it kills certain nerve cells, can cause tremors, too. Some forms are inherited and run in families. Others have no known cause.
There is no cure for most tremors. Treatment to relieve them depends on their cause. In many cases, medicines and sometimes surgical procedures can reduce or stop tremors and improve muscle control. Tremors are not life threatening. However, they can be embarrassing and make it hard to perform daily tasks.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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Tremor(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tremor/detail_tremor.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/temblor.htm
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Essential Tremor(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/brain/disorders/807.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/brain/disorders/807.printerview.html
- Essential Tremor(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/essential-tremor/DS00367/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Essential Tremor(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/essential_tremor/essential_tremor.htm
- Tremor(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tremor/tremor.htm
- Three Drinks a Day Doubles Risk of Tremor(04/09/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82742.html
- Essential Tremor: Diagnosis(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_dia.html
- Essential Tremor: Tremor Scale(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_ts.html
- Deep Brain Stimulation(American Association of Neurological Surgeons) - http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/deep%20brain%20stimulation.asp
- Essential Tremor: Pharmacologic Treatments(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_pt.html
- Essential Tremor: Surgical Approaches to Treatment(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_st.html
- Essential Tremor: Lifestyle Changes(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_lc.html
- Magnesium Deficiency: A Cause of Tremors(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/magnesium-deficiency/AN01191/METHOD=print
- Tremor and MS(National Multiple Sclerosis Society) - http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/symptoms/tremor/index.aspx
- Deep Brain Stimulation(OR-Live) - One hour program - 5/28/2008 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/nlm-flash/vau_2319/rnh.cfm?id=735
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Tremor(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Tremor%22
- Essential Tremor: Causes/Genetics(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/et/et_cg.html
- Genetics Home Reference: Essential tremor(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=essentialtremor
- Article: Postural induced-tremor in psychiatry. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19067999&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Changes in cognition and health-related quality of life with unilateral... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19019683&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Classic essential tremor changes following cerebellar hemorrhage. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19015491&tool=MedlinePlus
- Tremor -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=tremor[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Glossary of Terms(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/glossary/
- Find a Neurologist(American Academy of Neurology) - http://www.thebrainmatters.org/index.cfm?key=1.2.2
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National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/
- We Move - http://www.wemove.org/
- Tremor (Pediatric) Overview(We Move) - http://www.wemove.org/tremor/trem.html
- Movement Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/movementdisorders.html
- Parkinson's Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html
- Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
- Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Tremor is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/