SynapCell

Essential Tremor

Not so many treatment options

SynapCell-Essential-tremor-patient-rounded
  • Essential tremor (ET) is a neurological condition that causes a rhythmic trembling of the hands, head, voice, legs or trunk.
  • Even though several solutions exist for managing this motor disorder, no medication specifically designed to treat ET exists to date.
  • Nevertheless, some medications can be used to treat the symptoms, including Propranolol but a series of undesirable effects are affecting treated patients.
  • There is therefore a huge need for novel medications to treat ET patients.
  • Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs) such as Gabapentin or Topiramate have also been used to treat the disorder and novel AEDs could be promising treatment options in the near future.

Essential Tremor is often confused with Parkinson’s disease although it’s eight times more common, affecting an estimated 10 million Americans and millions more worldwide. But it is more than just a tremor. Because of stereotypes and a lack of awareness, many people with ET never seek medical care.

The International Essential Tremor Foundation

AN IN VIVO BIOMARKER
THAT'S TRANSLATIONAL AND OBJECTIVE

We developped a specific set of assays using a translational model for which we identified a relevant EEG Biomarker.

  • Induced by an acute i.p injection of harmaline, the ET mouse shows specific and stable oscillatory activities in the 30-55 Hz frequency range in the primary motor cortex and in the cerebellum.
  • Such oscillations have been successfully reversed by propranolol, currently used to treat ET patients.
  • This oscillatory band can therefore be used as a translational and objective biomarker to evaluate potential treatments.

QUANTIFY THE IN VIVO EFFECT OF YOUR COMPOUND.

First-line therapies for ET are propranolol, a non-specific beta-blocker, and primidone, an anti-epileptic drug.

  •  Harmaline induces a dose-dependent rise of the specific 30-55 Hz ET band, quantified by our EEG platform (Cue®).
  •  Propranolol 20 mg/kg induces a transient decrease of the ET biomarker power, confirming the specificity of this biomarker for the assessment of therapeutic compounds against Essential Tremor.

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