Introduction: Chronic stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has proved itself to be useful in treating Parkinson's disease and especially in dealing with the tremor suffered by patients. Yet there is very little experience to support the use of STN as an alternative therapy in non Parkinsonian tremors.
Case report: Our study considered the case of a patient who had been diagnosed as suffering from drug resistant essential tremor which was predominant in the distal region of the upper right limb and was treated by unilateral stimulation of the STN.
Results: The patient's clinical state improved significantly from the first weeks onwards. After a year and a half of therapy, the patient had achieved a stable improvement of 82.4% on the tremor scale and medication was reduced by 41.7%.
Conclusions: SNT stimulation appears as a suitable target for the treatment of drug resistant essential tremor.