In a study published in JAMA Neurology co-authored by Vibhor Krishna, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery at the UNC School of Medicine, researchers found that a staged bilateral focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor is safe and effective. Essential tremor, a neurological condition that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking, can be so profound that typical life tasks become difficult to accomplish.
Since 2016, neurosurgeons have been able to perform a highly technical, incisionless focused ultrasound procedure to ablate (or inactivate) the diseased tissue in the brain. The results are instantaneous, with many patients walking out of the procedure room without a tremor. However, for patients who have significant tremors or a tremor originating from both sides of the brain, one course of this treatment is not enough to keep their symptoms under control.
“There are medications to treat essential tremor patients, but often their effectiveness wanes over time, or the side effects are too profound,” said Vibhor Krishna, MD, who was co-author on the paper and associate professor in the UNC Department of Neurosurgery. “Focused ultrasound can offer another route for some patients to regain their ability to live their lives the way they want. Sometimes, the positive effects are very profound.”
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