LOS ANGELES, April 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- People with
tremors in their hands from a condition called essential tremor may
find some relief from a new, non-invasive type of nerve
stimulation, according to a preliminary scientific abstract
released today that will be presented at the American Academy of
Neurology's 70th Annual Meeting in Los
Angeles, April 21 to 27,
2018.
Essential tremor is the most common type of tremor disorder and
can be disabling for the over 7 million people in the United States living with the disorder.
The condition affects the hands, head and voice and may cause
problems with daily activities such as eating, writing or
shaving.
The abstract describes two randomized controlled studies: an
in-clinic study that included 77 participants and an at-home study
that included an additional 61 participants. All had essential
tremor.
The treatment, a wrist-worn neuromodulation device, stimulates
the median and radial nerves in the wrist and delivers a
stimulation pattern that is tuned to interrupt a person's
tremor.
For the in-clinic study, participants received one session of
either the treatment stimulation or sham stimulation to the wrist
of the hand with the more severe tremor. The tremor was evaluated
before and after the session.
Physicians assessed the severity of tremor in the entire arm and
the assessments showed a 65 percent improvement in the treatment
group compared to 32 percent in those who received sham
stimulation.
Participants performed certain activities of daily living in the
clinic and were asked to rate their performance before and after
stimulation. Those who received treatment stimulation showed a 27
percent improvement compared to 16 percent for sham stimulation.
Overall, 88 percent of those receiving the treatment reported
improvement in their tremor after receiving treatment
stimulation.
"The study conducted in the clinic showed that treatment
stimulation was safe and produced significant improvements in both
physician-rated and patient-rated measures of tremor severity
compared to sham stimulation," said study author Rajesh Pahwa, MD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and a Fellow of the American
Academy of Neurology.
Participants had no serious side effects, and only 3 percent in
the in-clinic study had mild side effects such as skin redness and
irritation, which went away on their own. Pahwa said the therapy
has few side effects when compared to other available
treatments.
For the at-home study, 61 participants received either treatment
stimulation, sham stimulation or their usual treatment. Those who
received treatment stimulation had a minimum of two sessions a day
for up to one month.
Tremor severity was measured using sensors on the device before
and after each therapy session. People receiving treatment
stimulation showed a reduction in their tremor severity after 89.5
percent of the treatment stimulation sessions as measured by the
sensors.
"Our research suggests that this non-invasive therapy may offer
meaningful relief from the symptoms of hand tremor for people with
essential tremor," Pahwa said.
A limitation of the studies is that the therapy was tested in
small groups of people and for short durations. Additional studies
will look at larger groups of people over longer periods of
time.
The two studies in the abstract were supported by Cala Health,
Inc., developer of the stimulation therapy.
Learn more about multiple sclerosis at www.BrainandLife.org, the
American Academy of Neurology's patient and caregiver website and
online home of Brain & Life™, a free
magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and
brain health.
The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest
association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with
over 34,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest
quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor
with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing
disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's
disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion,
Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology,
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SOURCE American Academy of Neurology