Effects of surgical therapies on cognitive function in patients with essential tremor

Essential tremor (ET) is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline, particularly with advancing age. Surgical therapies, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), are effective treatment options for tremor, but their long-term cognitive effects remain unclear. This is the first study to compare ET patients who underwent surgery to those who had not.

We assessed cognitive outcomes in ET patients who underwent surgical therapies and compared them to non-surgical controls.

We identified both surgical (n = 12) and non-surgical ET cases (n = 188) from a large prospective longitudinal study and compared their cognitive function. Cognitive function was assessed prior to and following surgery, over the course of 36- and 54-month intervals. Mixed model analyses of covariance were used to assess cognitive changes over time, controlling for age, global cognitive scores, years of education, and study visit.

Although both groups showed modest cognitive decline over time, few significant differences were observed between the surgical and non-surgical groups. Significant group × time interactions were observed for several tests, with the surgical group demonstrating greater decline in some subdomains of Memory and Executive Function.

Surgical therapies such as DBS and MRgFUS do not appear to broadly impact global cognitive function in older ET patients. However, specific cognitive domains may be more susceptible to decline.