# Underlying Tremor Improvement with Consistent Use of Transcutaneous Afferent Patterned Stimulation in Patients with Essential Tremor

## TL;DR

Using a non-invasive wrist-worn device called TAPS regularly over three months significantly reduced tremor severity in essential tremor patients.

## Contribution

This study shows that consistent TAPS use leads to long-term improvement in essential tremor severity.

## Key findings

- BF-ADL scores improved by 2.0 points at 1 month and 2.7 points at 3 months.
- Over 80% of patients met responder criteria for tremor improvement at both follow-ups.
- Improvements were observed even with approximately once-daily TAPS use.

## Abstract

Transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) is a non-invasive, wrist-worn neurostimulation therapy that has demonstrated acute and short-term lasting tremor reduction in patients with essential tremor (ET). However, the longer-term improvement in underlying tremor severity from consistent use of TAPS has not been fully explored.

We conducted a retrospective analysis of the multicenter PROSPECT trial, which evaluated twice-daily TAPS use over three months in patients with ET. Underlying tremor improvement was assessed by comparing pre-stimulation tremor severity at baseline with pre-stimulation tremor severity at 1- and 3-month follow-up visits. Tremor severity was measured using the Bain & Findley Activities of Daily Living (BF-ADL) scale and the Tremor Research Group’s Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS). Responders were defined as patients demonstrating at least a 1-point improvement on any qualifying task.

Among 192 patients with available data, pre-stimulation BF-ADL scores improved significantly by 2.0 points at 1 month and 2.7 points at 3 months compared with baseline (p < 0.001). Pre-stimulation TETRAS scores also showed significant improvements at both time points (p < 0.001). Measurements at 1 and 3 months were made an average of 16.2 hours after the prior stimulation session. Over 80% of patients met responder criteria for underlying tremor improvement on BF-ADL and TETRAS at both follow-up visits. Improvements were observed even among patients using TAPS approximately once daily.

Consistent use of TAPS was associated with significant improvement in underlying tremor severity in patients with essential tremor. These findings suggest that regular TAPS use may confer sustained therapeutic benefit.