Tremor Gram – February 2023

More Support Available for Students with ET

At its January meeting, the IETF Board of Directors approved a change in the Catherine Rice Scholarship Program to provide more support for post-high school students with essential tremor.

Beginning in the fall of 2023, scholarship awards will increase from $1,000 to $3,000. In making the change, the Board took into consideration the rising cost of higher education. A report published in 2022 by U.S. News and World Report showed that in-state tuition and fees at public national universities has increased 175% since 2003. This is not the first time IETF scholarship awards have increased. When the program was launched in 2011, $500 scholarships were awarded. In 2017, scholarship offerings increased to $1,000.

Another change in the program is the timeline. Now all scholarships will be awarded in the summer for the fall semester. Up to six scholarships will be awarded each year. The deadline for scholarship applications is May 1.

All post-high school students with essential tremor – regardless of age, vocational goals or physical location in the world – are encouraged to apply for a scholarship. Students pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees also qualify.

The scholarship program was named to honor the IETF’s former executive director, Catherine Rice, who was passionate about recognizing the achievements of young people with ET.

Scholarships are made possible by your donations and funds from the Lois and John Lichliter Estate.

We Can Weather ET Together

The IETF is preparing for its 13^th annual National Essential Tremor Awareness Month (NETA) campaign in March. The 2023 theme is “We Can Weather ET Together.”

NETA Month is a time to educate others about essential tremor (ET) and explain its impact on the millions who live with it every day. The overall goal is to achieve a greater understanding and acceptance of ET.

Here are some ways you can plan to raise awareness during March:

• Download our free Essential Tremor Facts sheet and share these facts with others to get conversations started about essential tremor.
• Order free 2023 awareness posters and hang them in areas that get a lot of foot traffic, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, your doctor’s office, community or senior centers, local libraries, etc. (Limit 5 maximum)
• Make an awareness month donation. As a thank you, will send you a special IETF phone/tablet holder with a $30 donation. For a $50 donation, you will receive an NETA Month umbrella AND the phone/tablet holder (while supplies last).
• Write a blog about how essential tremor impacts your life and what others should know about it. The IETF is happy to share these blogs on essentialtremor.org during March. Email them to tammy@essentialtremor.org.
• Visit our YouTube Channel and share some of our videos, including the popular “Essential Tremor is More Than a Tremor” which has more than 567,000 views.
• Share IETF social media posts and pages from the IETF website on your social media channels. Helping to educate your friends and family is as easy as clicking “share”.
• Use our digital downloads to show your support for the IETF and ET awareness on your emails, Zoom calls, and social media posts.

Visit our ET awareness page online for more details.

Study Documents Efficacy of Cala Trio  

Cala Trio continues to provide treatment to patients with essential tremor without loss of effectiveness, according to a new study by Cala Health.

In our latest Talking Essential Tremor podcast, “Study Documents the Effectiveness of Cala Trio,” Liana Hennum, head of health economics outcomes research for Cala, talks about this and other positive outcomes revealed in this study. She said two-thirds of all patients reported improvement in overall quality of life after using the device for almost two years. One-fourth of patients reported the ability to reduce their dosage of essential tremor medication or discontinue their medication altogether.

Cala Trio is a non-invasive, drug-free, wrist-worn treatment that addresses the root cause of essential tremor with electrical stimulation known as neuromodulation.

Listen to this podcast from our website or access it on Amazon Music/Audible, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Spotify, RadioPublic, and other podcast platforms.  

Clinical Trials Need You!

If you want to make a difference in the search for better treatments for essential tremor, consider participating in a clinical trial. On our website, we keep an ongoing list of clinical trials recruiting participants. Here are some of the most recent ones:

• Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ EveresT Study is a research study testing the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medication that may help decrease tremor severity for people diagnosed with essential tremor (ET). To learn more and sign up for the study, please visit the study website here.
• The KINETIC 2 TRIAL is evaluating the safety and efficacy of three different doses of an investigational drug compared to a placebo on reducing tremors in adults diagnosed with essential tremor. Participation lasts approximately 19 weeks. Visit the study website at KINETIC2ETtrial.com to learn more.
• Researchers in the Voice Lab at The University of Texas at Austin invite individuals with essential tremor to participate in a study of voice. The goals of the study are to understand how speakers control their voice and to develop therapy that improves vocal control. For more information contact the UT Voice Lab, (512) 232-4428, or email voicelab@austin.utexas.edu.