Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment of Tremor.

Deep brain stimulation is now the most common surgical treatment of tremor. Tremor can be classified as action or resting tremor and is one of the most common movement disorders. Initial treatment of tremor should focus on medical treatment but, if patients fail medical therapy, deep brain stimulation should be considered with likely success. The usual target is the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus. Common side effects of treatment include paresthesias, dysarthria, and less often ataxia. Future directions of research and development, including directional leads and closed-loop stimulation, may eventually lead to additional improvement in patient outcomes.