Do you have the "shakes"?

Do you or someone you love have problems with "the shakes" – a condition where your/your loved one's hands, head, or even legs shake uncontrollably?

Some might immediately (mis)diagnose it as Parkinson's disease --or perhaps an emotional disorder (since the tremors would worsen if the person is stressed, nervous, fatigued, or anxious). However, in reality it may be a case of essential tremors -- a tremor caused by no apparent underlying factor. Unfortunately, the tremors don't "become apparent until midlife and then worsens with age."

This condition is a result of a genetic mutation for which there is a 50% chance that it would be passed to the person's offspring. This is the reason it is so important to try to discover our genetic information – we don't have a full picture of ourselves and our loved ones until we see the entire panorama.

There are treatments such as "beta blockers like propranolol, marketed as Inderal, used mainly to control high blood pressure; primidone, found in Mysoline; and topiramate, or Topamax, used mainly to treat epilepsy."

For further information, please reference the Wall Street Journal article, Finding Some Calm After Living With 'the Shakes'