Home Diseases and Conditions Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome

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Development Stage

Early Stage

Focused ultrasound research is in the laboratory phase and is not yet available for patients.

Clinical Trials

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

International Approval

Focused ultrasound is approved to treat this condition outside the US. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating international sites.

FDA Approved

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved focus ultrasound for this condition. Patients can seek commercial treatment at participating sites.

Early Stage

Clinical Trials

International

FDA Approved

Focused ultrasound for this condition is being researched in clinical trials.

Focused Ultrasound Therapy 

Focused ultrasound is a rapidly evolving, therapeutic technology that could transform the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with Tourette Syndrome. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue. 

How it Works 
Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces several therapeutic effects that are being evaluated. One is to treat the target with thermal ablation. This has been reported by the Shanghai International Medical Center. Another possible approach is to target the thalamus with low intensity focused ultrasound. There is currently no FDA or equivalent international approval for this treatment, so it is an item being evaluated in clinical trials.  

The primary options for treatment of Tourette Syndrome are very limited.  For certain patients, focused ultrasound could provide an effective addition to conventional therapy. While significant work has been accomplished, there is still much to be done before this technology will be widely available. 

Advantages 

  • Focused ultrasound is non-invasive, so it does not carry added concerns like surgical wound healing or infection.  
  • Focused ultrasound can reach the desired target without damaging surrounding tissue. 
  • It can be repeated, if necessary. 

Clinical Trials 

At the present time, there are no clinical trials recruiting patients for focused ultrasound treatment of Tourette Syndrome.  

The Foundation updates these pages regularly, but with the increasing number of clinical trials, we want to be sure that our audience has the latest information available. Therefore, we also added the website search information for the above trials. If you click here, it will take you to the latest information available from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. 

Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement  

Focused ultrasound treatment for Tourette Syndrome is not yet approved by regulatory bodies or covered by medical insurance companies. 

Notable Papers 

Vogt L, Quiroz V, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D. Emerging therapies for childhood-onset movement disorders. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2024 Jun 1;36(3):331-341. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000001354. Epub 2024 Apr 4. PMID: 38655812 

Reddy A, Hosseini MR, Patel A, Sharaf R, Reddy V, Tabarestani A, Lucke-Wold B. Deep brain stimulation, lesioning, focused ultrasound: update on utility. AIMS Neurosci. 2023 Apr 26;10(2):87-108. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2023007. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37426775  

Click here for additional references from PubMed.