Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025
MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Patients with Medically-refractory Essential Tremor
Published on: December 13, 2017
Unilateral Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound Lesion of the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson's Disease: A
Laura Armengou-Garcia1, Carlos A Sanchez-Catasus1,2, Iciar Aviles-Olmos1,3
1Department of Neurology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Background:
Unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) ablation using magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is being explored as a new treatment for asymmetric Parkinson's disease (PD).
Objectives:
The aims were to study the efficacy and safety of this treatment in asymmetric PD patients and to characterize the lesions.
Methods:
This prospective, single-center, open-label study evaluated asymmetric PD patients at 6 (n = 20) and 12 months (n = 12) after MRgFUS lesion of the STN. The primary outcome was the change in the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Part III (MDS-UPDRS III), score in off medication on the treated side and the adverse events (AEs) at 6-month follow-up. We also evaluated cognitive-neuropsychological changes, self-assessment of clinical improvement, and the correlation of the lesion volume with the motor outcomes.
Results:
On the treated side, the MDS-UPDRS III score (mean difference = 13.8) and the scores in rigidity, bradykinesia, and tremor improved (P < 0.001) throughout the follow-up compared to baseline (at 6 months: rigidity mean difference = 2.8, improvement: 83.5%; bradykinesia mean difference = 6.0, improvement: 69.4%; tremor mean difference = 4.7, improvement: 91.5%). One patient had severe weakness in the treated hemibody, 1 had moderate dyskinesia, and 1 was in moderate confusional state that became mild (weakness) or completely resolved (dyskinesia and confusional state) at 6 months. The rest of the AEs were mild. We observed no clinically relevant changes in cognitive-neuropsychological tests. The percentage of ablation of the STN correlated with the improvement in the total MDS-UPDRS III and contralateral tremor scores (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
Unilateral MRgFUS lesion of the STN resulted in a significant motor improvement. We observed no persistent severe AEs, although mild, mostly transient AEs were frequent. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
More Related Videos
07:14A Novel Approach to Assess Motor Outcome of Deep Brain Stimulation Effects in the Hemiparkinsonian Rat: Staircase and Cylinder Test
Published on: May 31, 2016
14:14Targeting Neuronal Fiber Tracts for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy Using Interactive, Patient-Specific Models
Published on: August 12, 2018