Scientists have determined that essential tremors are caused by overactive brain waves. The study also found a new way of treating the disease using GluRδ2 protein.
Researchers at the National Taiwan University and Colombia University Irving Medical center have published new research on Essential tremors. The study was published in Science Translational medicine this week and showed the connection between brain waves and tremors.
Understanding essential tremors
Essential tremors are a common neurological disorder that is characterized by the involuntary rhythmic trembling of hands. They discovered that people with essential tremor had abnormal cerebellum connections in their cerebellum. This causes them to generate overactive brainwaves or a lot of electrical activity in this region, causing tremors.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain responsible for the coordination of voluntary body movement. When it is affected, it can lead to the body losing control of any movement, as it is in the case of essential tremors.
The research also indicated that they had discovered a new way that could help treat this illness.
Essential tremor is hereditable and, therefore, can be tracked early. Scientists have also long known that the disease also affects people over the age of 40.
The disease is mostly confused with Parkinson’s disease, which has the same characteristics for the people affected. However, both diseases arise differently, with Parkinson’s disease being as a result of progressive loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain, a small region of the brain that plays an important role in motor function. However, Tremor is caused by abnormalities in the hindbrain.
Future treatment of essential tremors
The research, which involved 30 people, found a deficiency of GluRδ2 protein, which is found in the human cerebellum. Columbia neurologist Sheng-Han Kuo said,
That causes an overgrowth of the cerebellar fibers, which leads to too much crosstalk and oscillations of cerebellar neurons. These neuronal oscillations cause tremors.
While studying the effect of essential tremors in mice, the researchers found that GluRδ2 protein deficiency also caused the tremors. When the deficiency of the protein was treated in mice, their conditions improved. This lead to scientists speculating that this might work in humans also.
Kuo said,
We think correcting GluRδ2 can be a potential therapeutic strategy for essential tremor, “While GluRδ2 might not explain the whole cause of essential tremor, it may be a large part of it. Therefore, correcting GluRδ2 holds promise to treat tremor.
Kuo continued by saying the current method of treating essential tremors might not be effective. He argued these methods are mostly ineffective. Usage of propranolol drug that regulates blood pressure and primidone, which is anti-seizure, has been shown sometimes to be ineffective, according to Kuo.
He argued this research provides new insights into other methods that can be used to treat the disease. With continued research, Kuo believes that a drug for the disease can be found.
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