Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 1;11(2):V3.
doi: 10.3171/2024.7.FOCVID2472. eCollection 2024 Oct.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound for essential tremor

Alexander H Agopyan-Miu  1 , Grace B Simmons  2 , Gordon H Baltuch  1
Affiliations

MRI-guided focused ultrasound for essential tremor

Alexander H Agopyan-Miu et al. Neurosurg Focus Video. .

Abstract

This video depicts a left-sided MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy for a right-arm tremor in a 76-year-old, right-handed man with bilateral upper-extremity tremors. The patient tolerated the procedure well, with immediate tremor reduction that persisted at the 1-month follow-up, and there were no adverse events noted during intraoperative testing, postoperative testing, or follow-up. This case highlights MRgFUS as an effective, safe, incision-free treatment option for medically refractory essential tremor. Additional research is required to establish the long-term efficacy of MRgFUS compared with other surgical treatment options such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and radiosurgery. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2024.7.FOCVID2472.

Keywords: MRI-guided focused ultrasound; essential tremor; operative technique.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings specified in this publication.The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings specified in this publication.

References

    1. Song P, Zhang Y, Zha M, et al. The global prevalence of essential tremor, with emphasis on age and sex: a meta-analysis. J Glob Health. 2021;11:04028. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pouratian N, Baltuch G, Elias WJ, Gross R. American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Position Statement on Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound for the Management of Essential Tremor. Neurosurgery. 2020;87(2):E126–E129. - PubMed
    1. Lorenz D, Schwieger D, Moises H, Deuschl G. Quality of life and personality in essential tremor patients. Mov Disord. 2006;21(8):1114–1118. - PubMed
    1. Koller WC, Vetere-Overfield B. Acute and chronic effects of propranolol and primidone in essential tremor. Neurology. 1989;39(12):1587–1588. - PubMed
    1. Giordano M, Caccavella VM, Zaed I, et al. Comparison between deep brain stimulation and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound in the treatment of essential tremor: a systematic review and pooled analysis of functional outcomes. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020;91(12):1270–1278. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources