title: Quality of life following DBS in the caudal zona incerta in patients with essential tremor.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Essential tremor (ET) is the most common movement disorder and often affects the quality of life. There are only a few studies evaluating the quality of life after deep brain stimulation (DBS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  This is a prospective study of 16 patients undergoing deep brain stimulation in the caudal Zona incerta (cZi). The quality of life was assessed with Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) and SF-36 scores, and the tremor was evaluated using the essential tremor rating scale (ETRS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the tremor rating, hand tremor on the treated side improved by 95%, hand function by 78% and activities of daily living by 71%. The QUEST score showed statistically significant improvements in the psychosocial and activities of daily living subscores. The SF-36 score did not show any significant improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although very good tremor reduction was achieved, the improvement in the quality of life scores was more modest. This could partly be explained by the quality of life being affected by other factors than the tremor itself.
authors: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Neurosurgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. ulrika.sandvik@neuro.umu.se
authors: Ulrika
authors: U
authors: Sandvik
authors: Gun-Marie
authors: GM
authors: Hariz
authors: Patric
authors: P
authors: Blomstedt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D020530:Subthalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome