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

METHODS: Data were collected in the US between March and 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 patient 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 the time of survey completion. The 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, of whom only 533 had reported receiving first-line treatment (51% were prescribed propranolol) and a further 142 had reported progressing to subsequent lines (42% of whom were prescribed primidone as their second-line treatment). Of the 140 patients with documented reasons for first-line treatment discontinuation, 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 medication treatment satisfaction, with 90% of physicians (n=658/731) being at least moderately satisfied with current medication treatments versus only 67% of patients (n=272/409).

CONCLUSIONS: This descriptive study showed that ET has a high disease burden, and many patients with an advanced line of ET therapy advanced due to lack of efficacy with prior treatments. In addition, the observed discordance in treatment satisfaction between patients and physicians further underscores the significant unmet needs that exist in ET.