Super-strength doses of vitamin B1 could cure the shakes, scientists claim.
The ‘remarkable’ treatment worked on two patients in their 70s – and stopped their tremors from playing havoc on their lives.
Stunning video footage showed how thiamine, or vitamin B1, changed the lives of the patients, who were both plagued by the shakes.
The life-changing injections – which provide 100 times more of the vitamin than recommended – gave one man the ability to drink a cup of tea again.
Italian researchers at a nursing home, who tested the high doses of thiamine, believe it could offer hope of a new way of combating essential tremors.
The life-changing injections – which provide 100 times more vitamin B than recommended – gave one man the ability to drink a cup of tea again. It initially affected his handwriting but it eventually robbed him of his ability to use a spoon, pour items and even carry trays
Medics, led by Dr Antonio Constantini, published the results of the ongoing three-year long trial in the prestigious BMJ Case Reports.
He wrote: ‘High-dose thiamine has led to a rapid, remarkable and persistent improvement of the symptoms in two patients with essential tremor.
‘This result suggests the possibility that high doses of intramuscular thiamine may be an affordable alternative.’ He added it was ‘highly effective’.
No side effects have been noted so far – unlike that of the current drugs given to patients with essential tremor to combat tremors, or the shakes.
The neurological disease, which can greatly affect life quality, strikes between four and 10 per cent of the population, according to estimates.
Dr Costantini, of the Villa Immacolata in Viterbo, added: ‘We deem necessary a lifelong use of high-dose thiamine in affected subjects.’
The woman, who also suffered from essential tremor, realised that she had a slight shake while decorating objects with her tools. Before the treatment she scored 21 points on the ADLS tremor score. This dropped to seven after three months of the injections
The man, who was 70 when he started treatment four years ago in 2014, suffered from the shakes for five years before seeking help.
It initially affected his handwriting but it eventually robbed him of his ability to use a spoon, pour items and even carry trays.
Doctors in Viterbo – 50 miles (80km) north of Rome – gave him two doses of 100mg of thiamine weekly. Adults are advised to have 1mg each day.
He scored 17 on a points scale designed to measure symptoms of essential tremor before treatment. This dropped to just 6.5 three months after.
The woman, who also suffered from essential tremor, realised that she had a slight shake while decorating objects with her tools.
She sought help at the same clinic and in November 2014 was started on 100mg injections of thiamine twice a week.
Before the treatment she scored 21 points on the ADLS tremor score. This dropped to seven after three months of the injections.