Swiss Team Publishes New Data on Parkinson’s Disease

Published:

FUS2015Stock 012 SmMRgFUS Pallidothalamic Tractotomy for Chronic Therapy-Resistant Parkinson’s Disease in 51 Consecutive Patients: Single Center Experience

A collaborative group in Switzerland led by Marc Gallay, MD, and Daniel Jeanmonod, MD, has published results from performing 52 staged bilateral treatments in 47 patients with Parkinson’s disease using Insightec’s Exablate Neuro device. The target for the treatments was the palliodothalamic tract, and 15 of the patients received bilateral treatment. Three subtypes of idiopathic Parkinson’s were treated: tremor dominant, akinetic-rigid, and mixed. Median follow-up was 12 months.

Postoperative scores for the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale were reduced 84% for tremor, 70% for rigidity, and 73% for distal hypobradykinesia on the treated side. The treatment also achieved 100% suppression of on-medication dyskinesias, a 55% reduction of L-Dopa intake, and reduced pain (p < 0.001), dystonia (p < 0.001) and REM sleep disorders (p < 0.01).

MR-guided focused ultrasound is approved for therapy-resistant Parkinson’s disease in Switzerland.

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