In this episode, the two souls at the center of the new tremor classification join the MDS Podcast to discuss what essential tremor is. Listen as Prof. Kailash Bhatia and Prof. Günther Deuschl walk you through their clinical methods and future outlook on essential tremor. Do they agree? Disagree?

Growing evidence suggests a contributory role of tau protein in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease. In this episode, Dr. Eduardo de Pablo-Fernández discusses the potential role of skin tau quantification as a biomarker for Huntington's disease with Dr. Jaime Kulisevsky and Dr. Iñigo Ruiz-Barrio. The authors discuss the results of the recent study correlating skin tau quantification with clinical and radiological data, and the role of skin tau in defining HD subtypes.

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In this episode Dr. Alfonso Fasano interviews Dr. Petra Schwingenschuh on her approach to tremor in the clinic. She further explains the importance of a good history taking, how to clinically assess tremor of different body parts, and how to diagnose functional tremor.

Dr. Sara Schaefer interviews Dr. Jaclyn Martindale on stigma in the experiences of individuals with pediatric movement disorders and tic disorders. They discuss the reasons behind stigma, types of stigma, and ways that stigma is perpetuated and mitigated in this special episode for World Movement Disorders Day 2024.

Dr. Indu Subramanian shares her view on stigma affecting people with Parkinson's disease, along with some practical tips on how to fight it as doctors and as a society.

Dr. Natasha Fothergill-Misbah discusses stigma in movement disorders with Dr. Sara Schaefer, including the origins, types, and consequences of stigma, and how stigma may be perpetuated and combatted around the world.

Dr. Rick Helmich tells us about the role of functional MRI in understanding the circuits of tremor. The conversation starts with a description of his most famous theory on the pathophysiology of Parkinsonism tremor ('dimmer-switch' hypothesis) and moves towards other forms of tremors, such as dystonic, Holmes and essential and even physiological tremor.

Dr. Anna Latorre is interviewed by Dr. Sara Schaefer about her study exploring the role of transcutaneous spinal cord simulation for suppression of postural tremor in essential tremor, including the potential pathophysiological mechanisms and implications for therapeutic use.

Journal CME is available until October 21, 2025

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In the introductory episode for the Tremor Special Series, Dr. Elan Louis tells us about the epidemiology of tremor as well as patients' and health care providers' awareness (or lack thereof). He guides us through his journey from when his mentor suggested that he'd look into familial essential tremor to the most important discoveries of the last two decades. Finally he gives us a glimpse of what's about to come and why tremor matters.

Prof. Alessio Di Fonzo shares the results of his award winning, multi-center work examining genetic data from people with early-onset PD in hopes of highlighting the difficulties in interpreting genetic variants emerging from NGS-multigene panels.

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