Six Myths and Misconceptions about Essential Tremor

There are myths and misperceptions about most human diseases, and neurological diseases are no exception. In many instances, myths and misconceptions reflect what is no more than the collective failure of the field to catch up with the state of the science in that field. Hence, one may perhaps refer to these as "lags" rather than myths. As the field of medicine attempts to be evidence-based, it is best to remain true to published data and the state of the science. In this paper, I review six myths and misconceptions about ET. Myth 1 relates to the natural history and prognosis of ET. Myths 2 and 3 relate to the biological basis of ET, whereas myths 4 and 5 relate to the expression of the core clinical feature of ET. Finally, myth 6 focuses on the issue of disease classification. The myths are as follows: Myth 1: "ET is not associated with a shorter life expectancy". Myth 2: "The pathophysiology of ET remains unclear". Myth 3: "There have also been studies that do not show any cerebellar degeneration". Myth 4: "ET is a postural or a kinetic tremor". Myth 5: "Action tremor in ET is usually bilateral and symmetric". Myth 6: "ET plus". As neurologists, we are not ignorant of feedback loops. A regular review of facts should help to frame one's output. As such, one's formulations and output will be firmly grounded in data.