Objective: To characterize disease burden and medication treatment insights in patients with essential tremor (ET) using Adelphi Essential Tremor Disease Specific Programme (DSP)^TM data.

Background: ET is a common progressive movement disorder, affecting more than a million patients in the US.¹ For patients, uncontrollable shaking of the hands, head, voice and/or legs causes difficulty conducting activities of daily living. This functional impairment can result in clinical and humanistic burdens, underscoring the need for effective ET treatment options.

Method: Data were collected in the US from March to August 2021 in patients with an ET diagnosis from physician-completed patient record forms (40 primary care physicians, 60 neurologists) and linked patient surveys. Descriptive analyses were performed for demographics, disease burden, medication treatment patterns, and treatment satisfaction.

Results: Physicians provided data for 890 patients with an ET diagnosis (159 not currently treated/731 currently treated). The median (IQR) patient age was 66 (57–74) years; most patients were male (52%), White (76%), and retired (46%); and 30% worked full-time and 11% part-time at survey completion. Most common physician-reported symptoms included shaking of hands (82%), tremors that worsen during emotional stress (33%), excessive tiredness (23%), and anxiety (17%). Among the 890 patients, 675 had a complete treatment history; 533 reported receiving first-line treatment (51% were primarily prescribed propranolol) and a further 142 reported progressing to subsequent lines (42% were primarily prescribed primidone as a second-line treatment). Of 140 patients with documented reasons for first-line treatment modification, 85% switched due to lack of efficacy and 42% due to tolerability concerns; reasons were not mutually exclusive. Differences were reported in patient- and physician-reported treatment satisfaction, with 90% of physicians (n=658) being at least moderately satisfied with current treatments vs 67% of patients (n=272).

Conclusion: The study showed ET has a high disease burden, with many patients progressing to advanced lines of therapy due to lack of efficacy with prior treatments. In addition, the observed discordance in treatment satisfaction between patients and physicians further underscores significant unmet needs in ET.

References: Louis ED, Ottman R. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y). 2014;4:259.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/disease-burden-and-treatment-in-patients-with-essential-tremor-in-the-united-states-real-world-evidence-from-a-cross-sectional-survey-of-physicians-and-patients/