Focus Ultrasound

[jackhammersbro]

Focus Ultra Sound for Parkinson's

Is anyone familiar with this treatment

[lenamm]

Focused ultrasound is a tool - it is a way of directing focused ultrasound with MRI visualization. It can be used for many surgeries all with different outcomes. To talk about FUS without naming the surgery tells nothing, it is like saying a doctor used a scalpel without naming the surgery.

Focused ultrasound is a way to do surgery. You are permenantly destroying a part of the brain. It is something to consider vs DBS. It is not done with early disease. It is brain surgery we are talking about. No incision is needed and side effects are rare but there is risk.

There are three surgeries for Parkinson's. PTT (pallidothalamic tractotomy) in Switzerland is the only one that can be done on both sides and treats tremor, dystonia, dyskinesia, bradykinesis and rigidity and results hold for at least six years (ie halts progression of symptoms). Thalmotomy in the US and other countries is just for tremor dominant PD and is FDA approved and can only be done on one side. Pallidiotomy is US is for dyskinesia and is in trials in the US, Canada, maybe UK but seems to treat different symptoms as well, also only one side can be done. I have less info on the surgeries besides PTT since I did not go through them. At this point only medication resistant folks qualify for FUS surgeries (i.e. meds no longer work or side effects very severe). So if you have never been on meds this is not an option.

PTT results

frontiersin.org/articles/10...

There are many threads on this site - search FUS, PTT, focused ultrasound, Switzerland

[Despe in reply to lenamm]

He/she is addressing Parkinson's.

[jimcaster in reply to Despe]

?

[Despe in reply to jimcaster]

"To talk about FUS without naming the surgery tells nothing, it is like saying a doctor used a scalpel without naming the surgery."

[lenamm in reply to Despe]

Yes there are three different FUS surgeries for PD - the outcomes are different.

[Despe in reply to lenamm]

Yes, you are right, however I believe she/he was referring to PTT.