Essential Tremors
Clinical Trial Volunteers Needed
(8/20/17)- We are
repeating this item, dated 11/1/16 below since to the best of our knowledge
clinical trial volunteers are still needed for this study on essential tremors.
(11/1/16)-You probably know
someone who has it. It is the most common movement disorder, yet most people don't
even know its name.
Essential tremor affects nearly one per cent of
the world's population, increasing to four per cent of those over 40. The
involuntary shaking of hands is the most common symptom, but symptoms can also
include shaking of the head and legs.
Often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease,
essential tremor has less severe health impacts, but does get worse over time
and can have debilitating consequences. Essential tremor has a large genetic
component; it is common to have large families with several members affected.
Until recently, however, the genetic mechanism behind the disease remained
unknown.
Researchers at the Montreal Neurological
Institute and Hospital of McGill University and Kiel University in Germany have
led a large international collaborative study that sheds new light on the
genetics behind essential tremor, in a paper published in Brain Journal on Oct.
21, 2016. It is the largest study on essential tremor to date.
Studying a group of 2,809 patients, the
researchers found a strong correlation between essential tremor and a gene
known as STK32B. They also found two other genes correlated to a lesser extent
with the disease. Now they plan to test even more patients to understand how
these genes may contribute to the development of the disease and find other
predisposing genes.
"We have the first clue now, but we want to
expand on that because we still have much to learn" says Simon Girard, now
a professor at the Université du Quebec à Chicoutimi
and the paper's lead author.
Ideally to follow up this study the team needs
to recruit 10,000 additional essential tremor sufferers. These new subjects
would be studied to identify new genes that predispose individuals to essential
tremor. Once there is a more complete understanding of the genetic basis of
essential tremor, scientists will be in a position to better understand the
roles these genes play in the disease, and devise better diagnostic tools and
treatments.
Girard says recruiting the large number of
patients needed will be a challenge, in part because
many sufferers do not seek medical care.
"Essential tremor is the most common
movement disorder, but many sufferers don't seek medical help," he says.
"People suffer from the tremor, but they tend to make do as best they can.
Some people have had a tremor for 10-20 years or more. They know they have a
tremor and they live with it."
Anyone who would like to participate in the
study should contact research coordinator Vessela Zaharieva at vessela.zaharieva@mcgill.ca. If they are found to be eligible, they will be
contacted via telephone to answer more questions and invited to participate in
the study if they wish.
"People suffering from essential tremor
have a chance to help us better understand this complex disease," says Guy
Rouleau, director of the MNI and the study's senior author. "The findings
will improve the chances of developing drugs to lessen
or halt the symptoms, a benefit not only to today's sufferers but those of the
future."
Story Source:
Materials provided by McGill University. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Stefanie H. Müller, Simon L. Girard, Franziska Hopfner, Nancy D. Merner, Cynthia
V. Bourassa, Delia Lorenz, Lorraine N. Clark, Lukas Tittmann,
Alexandra I. Soto-Ortolaza, Stephan Klebe, Mark Hallett, Susanne A. Schneider, Colin A.
Hodgkinson, Wolfgang Lieb, Zbigniew
K. Wszolek, Manuela Pendziwiat,
Oswaldo Lorenzo-Betancor, Werner Poewe,
Sara Ortega-Cubero, Klaus Seppi,
Alex Rajput, Anna Hussl, Ali H. Rajput, Daniela Berg,
Patrick A. Dion, Isabel Wurster, Joshua M. Shulman,
Karin Srulijes, Dietrich Haubenberger,
Pau Pastor, Carles Vilariño-Güell,
Ronald B. Postuma, Geneviève Bernard, Karl-Heinz Ladwig, Nicolas Dupré, Joseph Jankovic, Konstantin Strauch,
Michel Panisset, Juliane Winkelmann, Claudia M. Testa, Eva Reischl, Kirsten E. Zeuner, Owen A. Ross, Thomas Arzberger,
Sylvain Chouinard, Günther Deuschl, Elan D. Louis, Gregor Kuhlenbäumer, Guy A. Rouleau. Genome-wide association study
in essential tremor identifies three new loci. Brain, 2016; aww242 DOI:
10.1093/brain/aww242
Cite This Page:
MLA
APA
Chicago
McGill University. "Understanding essential
tremor: Essential tremor sufferers needed for groundbreaking study." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 26 October 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161026110709.htm>.
FOR AN INFORMATIVE AND PERSONAL ARTICLE ON PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS WHEN SELECTING A NURSING HOME SEE OUR ARTICLE "Selecting a Nursing Home"
by Harold Rubin
updated August 20, 2017
e-mail: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com or allanrubin4@gmail.com