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Evidence summaries

Beta-Blockers for Essential Tremor

Propranolol is effective for essential tremor of the hands at least in the short term. Level of evidence: "A"

A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of 12 small (10-24 people) and brief (2-4 weeks) RCTs. Propranolol (most frequently), metoprolol, atenolol, pindolol, sotalol, nicardipine and placebo were compared with placebo. All RCTs found that propranolol improved symptoms compared with placebo (p<0.05). Four of the RCTs found that propranolol increased the proportion of people classified as "responders" (ARRs 69%, 80%, 64%, 32%). Small trials on other beta-blockers provided only weak evidence that beta-blockers other than propranolol are more effective than placebo.

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    References

    • Ferreira J, Sampaio C. Essential tremor. Clin Evid 2005 Jun;(13):1608-21. [PubMed].

Primary/Secondary Keywords