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home » about us » what is essential tremor?

What is Essential Tremor?

ET is called "essential" because in the past it had no known cause. It's not caused by another neurological condition, by injury, or as a side effect of a medication.

ET usually affects the hands, but it may also affect the head and neck, face, jaw, tongue, voice (causing a shaking or quivering sound), the trunk, and rarely the legs and feet. The tremor may be a rhythmic "back-and-forth" or "to-and-fro" movement produced by involuntary (unintentional) contractions of the muscle. Severity of the tremor can vary greatly from hour to hour and day to day.

Some people experience tremor only when the body or a part of the body is held in certain positions. This is postural tremor. Tremor that worsens during a particular action such as writing or eating is kinetic or action-specific tremor. Most people with ET have both postural and kinetic tremor.

As many as 1 in 20 people older than age 40, and 1 in 5 people over 65 may have ET. There are approximately ten million people with ET in the United States, and many more worldwide. Of all neurologic diseases, ET is the most common with the exception of stroke. It is estimated that ET is eight to ten times more common than Parkinson's disease - a disorder characterized by resting tremor, stiffness and slowness of movement.

Join the IETF and raise awareness about ET!

» Event Registration

Research Studies
»		Recruiting persons with undiagnosed tremor Click here for details.

»		Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Call 608-263-1156 or email for details. More »

»		Hand Held Electronics Usability Call and mention "Wand Study" Call 404-321-6111 exts 4048 or 2561. for details. More »

»		The Department of Neurology at the University of Miami (Miami, FL) Brain Mechanisms of ET Call 305-243-5827. for details. More »

»		Pregabalin study U. of South Florida, Tampa ET patients in Tampa area Call 813-974-5909 or email for details. More »

ET Community Events
»		August 1 - Fayetteville, AR Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		August 21 - Augusta, GA Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		September 12 - Detroit, MI Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		October 10 - Cape Girardeau, MO Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		October 10 - Denver, CO Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		October 24 - Saint Louis, MO Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More » Register Now

»		Portland, OR Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More »

»		San Francisco Bay Area Community Awareness Event E-mail us for details. More »

Support Groups
»		June 29 - Hilton Head, SC E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 1 - Daytona Beach, FL E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 1 - Landsdowne, VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 2 - Silver Spring, MD E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 5 - Columbus, OH E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 8 - Prince Frederick, MD E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 9 - Hickory/Taylorsville, NC Evening E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 9 - Charlottesville, VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 10 - Lexington, VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 11 - Saginaw, MI Call 989-799-5413 for details. More »

»		July 11 - Northern Colorado E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 11 - Saint Louis City E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 12 - Cincinnati / Dayton, OH E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 14 - Roswell, GA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 14 - Taylorsville/Hickory, NC Evening SG E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 15 - Roanoke VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 17 - Roanoke VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 18 - San Ramon, CA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 18 - Albuquerque, NM E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 20 - Lynchburg, VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 21 - Richmond, VA Evening E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 21 - Richmond VA DAY E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 21 - Manchester, MO E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 23 - Wilmington, NC E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 25 - Chesterfield/Saint Louis West County, MO E-mail us for details. More »

»		July 29 - Bluffton, SC E-mail us for details. More »

»		Aug 8 - Milwaukee, WI E-mail us for details. More »

»		Somers, NY E-mail us for details. More »

»		Reston, VA E-mail us for details. More »

»		Sept 3 - Asheville, NC E-mail us for details. More »

»		Sept 21 - Aiken, SC E-mail us for details. More »

»		Watertown, NY E-mail us for details. More »

»		Palm Springs, CA E-mail us for details. More »

»		East Texas E-mail us for details. More »

Click here for our entire calendar.