Essential Tremor Causes

Essential Tremor is completely separate from other health issues, and does not cause other health problems. Mostly a genetic condition, over 50 percent of sufferers of Essential Tremor get it through a genetic mutation. It is known as a familial tremor because of this, and it isn’t clear what the Essential Tremor causes really are, but we have a vague understanding of why it happens.

ET is a nervous system disorder that causes rhythmic shaking in almost any part of your body. There are a few known risk factors for ET such as genetic mutation and age. Genetic mutation is caused by one of the parents giving one defective gene to their child. If you have a parent with the mutated gene, you have a 50 percent chance of developing the disorder yourself. If a genetic form of Essential Tremor is present, it is usually evident at a young age, though it may never manifest itself with the commonly known symptoms. In most families, Essential Tremor appears to be inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of an altered gene in each cell is enough to cause the disorder. Essential Tremor is more common in people over 40 years of age and can worsen over time with age. Essential tremor may appear at any age but is most common in the elderly. Some studies have suggested that people with essential tremor have a higher than average risk of developing neurological conditions including Parkinson disease or sensory problems such as hearing loss, especially in individuals whose tremor appears after age 65.Tremor frequency depends on the person, but can change throughout a person’s lifespan.

Tremor is usually caused by a problem in the deep parts of the brain that control all the movement of the body. Like most tremors, there isn’t a pinpointed and direct cause, but like ET there are other types of tremors that appear to be inherited and run in family lines. Tremors can happen on their own or be a symptom of other neurological problems including strokes, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and diseases like Parkinson’s. Some other potential Essential Tremor causes include mercury poisoning, anxiety and other things.

Researchers are currently working on finding more causes for the particular chromosomes that may be linked to Essential Tremor causes, but no specific genes have been solidly connected. Several genes as well as environmental factors likely contribute to an individual’s likelihood of getting the complex condition.