Natural disease progression vs. DBS-related worsening in essential tremor.

ABSTRACT: Essential tremor is a disabling and highly prevalent movement disorder. Deep brain stimulation of the ventral intermediate nucleus provides substantial symptom relief; however, many patients experience diminishing benefit over time. The underlying causes range from natural disease progression and worsening ataxia to, less commonly, habituation or tolerance. We performed a retrospective longitudinal analysis of 86 individuals with essential tremor who underwent unilateral ventral intermediate nucleus deep brain stimulation and had three or more follow-up visits (mean follow-up duration 5.2 years; maximum 15.4 years; >470 total visits). This approach provided a unique opportunity to assess contralateral limbs in addition to long term effects of stimulation. Tremor severity was quantified usi

SUBMITTER: Bakri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12724148 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature